May 18, 2006, 0:22 GMT
Los Angeles - There is a chance that LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and German wunderkind Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks could be battling it out for the NBA championship next month.
But on Wednesday they were named teammates as the top vote-getters in the All-NBA First Team announced by the league.
James and Nowitzki were selected as forwards, while NBA Most
Valuable Player Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns and league scoring champion Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers were named as guards. Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat was voted centre, rounding out the best of the best.
In just his third season in the league, James was named to his first All-NBA First Team after receiving a total of 610 points, including all 116 first-place votes from a panel of writers and broadcasters from each of the league's 30 teams who regularly cover the NBA.
The media voted for All-NBA First, Second and Third Teams by position with points awarded on a 5-3-1 basis.
'King James,' who finished second to Nash in the MVP balloting, averaged 31.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.6 assists in the regular season to carry playoff-hungry Cleveland to its first postseason appearance in eight years.
Currently, the 21-year-old sensation has the Cavaliers tied through four games against the mighty Detroit Pistons in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Nowitzki is making his second straight appearance on the All-NBA First Team after garnering 584 points, including 105 first-place votes. The versatile 7-foot forward led Dallas to a 60-22 season by averaging a career-high 26.6 points along with a team-best nine rebounds per game.
The German juggernaut has the Mavericks on the verge of eliminating defending champions San Antonio Spurs, with his team leading 3-1 in their Western Conference semifinal series showdown.
Nash was also selected to the NBA First Team for the second straight year. The Canadian point guard, who drives the Suns' high- octane offence, averaged career-highs in points (18.8) and dished out a league-high 10.5 assists per game.
Bryant led the NBA in scoring with 35.4 points per game - the seventh highest average in league history - to earn his fourth All-NBA First Team selection. He eclipsed the 50-point barrier six times, including a phenomenal 81-point outburst on January 22, that is second in league history to Wilt Chamberlain's incredible 100- point performance.
O'Neal was named to the team for the seventh consecutive time and eighth overall in his 14-year career. Though not as dominating as in the past, the 7-foot-1, 330-pound O'Neal still remains a powerful force. 'The Diesel' averaged 20 points per game on a league-leading 60 per cent field goal shooting to help the Heat to the Southeast Division crown.
The All-NBA Second Team consists of Detroit's Chauncey Billups and Miami's Dwayne Wade as the guards, San Antonio's Tim Duncan and the LA Clippers Elton Brand at forwards and Detroit's Ben Wallace at centre.
The All-NBA Third Team includes guards Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers and Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards, forwards Shawn Marion of the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets Carmelo Anthony while China's Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets was the centre.
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