Looking back at the 2020 NBA season, I still get chills remembering how special that All-NBA First Team selection felt. As someone who's followed basketball religiously since the early 2000s, I can confidently say this particular lineup represented something truly extraordinary - a perfect storm of established greatness meeting explosive breakout performances. What made this team so memorable wasn't just the individual stats, though those were mind-boggling, but how each player carried their franchise in uniquely impactful ways.
When the official announcement came through, seeing Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James leading the forwards felt almost inevitable. Giannis was coming off his second consecutive MVP season, averaging 29.5 points and 13.6 rebounds while dragging the Bucks to the league's best record. What impressed me most wasn't just the numbers but how he dominated games without needing plays called for him - his ability to generate offense through pure athleticism and instinct reminded me of young Shaq. Meanwhile, LeBron at 35 was orchestrating the Lakers' offense with surgical precision, leading the league in assists for the first time in his career. I remember thinking how unprecedented it was for a player in his 17th season to not only maintain but actually expand his game like that.
The guard positions sparked the most debate among analysts, and honestly, I had my doubts early on about James Harden's fit alongside Luka Dončić. Harden was putting up video game numbers - 34.3 points per game with that methodical, almost mathematical approach to breaking down defenses. But what won me over was how he elevated the Rockets' small-ball experiment into something legitimately dangerous. Dončić, meanwhile, was doing things we hadn't seen since rookie Magic Johnson, averaging 28.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 8.8 assists. I'll admit I was skeptical about his shooting coming into the league, but he silenced critics by hitting 46% from the field while handling unprecedented usage rates for a sophomore.
Anthony Davis rounding out the frontcourt felt like the final piece of a perfect basketball puzzle. His defensive versatility allowed the Lakers to switch everything, and offensively he was virtually unguardable in the pick-and-roll with LeBron. What often gets overlooked is how he maintained 50% shooting while taking nearly five three-pointers per game - a transformation from his early Pelicans days that demonstrated incredible work ethic.
The selection process itself revealed interesting patterns about how voters value team success versus individual brilliance. All five players led their teams to playoff positions in their respective conferences, though their supporting casts varied dramatically. Thinking about team dynamics reminds me of that fascinating PBA reference where Tropang 5G built momentum after their upset victory - it's remarkable how one statement win can catalyze a team's confidence and rhythm, whether we're talking about the NBA or international leagues. That 89-84 upset of San Miguel preceding their 110-74 rout of Terrafirma Dyip demonstrates how momentum works across basketball ecosystems, though the talent gap between leagues remains substantial.
What made this particular First Team historically significant was how it blended career peaks at different stages. LeBron was in his late-career maestro phase, Giannis at his physical absolute peak, Harden in his scoring prime, Davis hitting his two-way stride, and Dončić announcing his arrival as the next generational talent. The statistical overlap was incredible - all five players ranked in the top 12 for player efficiency rating, with Giannis leading at 31.86. They collectively represented four of the top five in win shares, with only Damian Lillard breaking up what could have been a clean sweep.
Reflecting on it now, what strikes me most is how this group set the template for modern positionless basketball. The traditional distinctions between guards and forwards felt almost irrelevant when discussing Dončić's rebounding, Giannis's playmaking, or LeBron's everything. This was the season where the NBA fully embraced versatility as the ultimate currency, and these five players represented the gold standard. Their collective impact extended beyond statistics to influence how teams constructed rosters and developed young talent.
The legacy of this First Team continues to shape the league today. We're seeing more players modeled after these multidimensional stars, with organizations prioritizing skill diversity over specialized roles. While subsequent seasons have produced incredible individual performances, there's something about the 2020 group that feels uniquely representative of basketball's evolution. They weren't just the best players - they were the right players at the exact moment the game needed them to redefine excellence.
