Giannis Antetokounmpo named to all-NBA second team for second straight season

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo took another long stride this season, his fifth in the NBA. He earned a second trip to the All-Star Game, set career highs in points per game (26.9), field-goal percentage (52.9%) and rebounds per game (10.0) and further established himself as one of the top young stars in the NBA.

But to move further up the league's individual rankings, Antetokounmpo still has work to do. He earned a spot on the all-NBA second team for the second successive season, the league announced Thursday.

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The two players ahead of him at the forward position were former MVPs LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, a unanimous selection, along with Houston Rockets guard James Harden and Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors. New Orleans Pelicans center Antony Davis and Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard rounded out the first team.

Each of those five players earned at least 63 first-team votes from the 100-member voting panel made up of international media members. Antetokounmpo was on every ballot and ranked sixth in the overall voting, drawing 28 first-team votes, 71 second-team votes and one nod for the third team.

His 354 points in a system that values first-team votes at 5 points, second team at 3 and third team at 1, represents a sizable step up from last season. In 2016-'17, Antetokounmpo earned 258 points and was squarely in the middle of the second-team pack, gaining 81 second-team votes, no first-team votes and being left off four ballots completely. No player outside of the first team received as many first-team votes as Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo's 26.9 points per game were not only a career high, but it also tied for the fourth-highest scoring average in the NBA and marked the highest by a Bucks player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar put up 30.0 during the 1974-'75 season. The last Bucks player to make consecutive all-NBA teams was Sidney Moncrief, who earned the recognition five straight seasons from 1981-'82 to 1985-'86.

Antetokounmpo is the fifth Bucks player to be selected to multiple all-NBA teams.

Joining Antetokounmpo on the second team were Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, San Antonio Spurs forward/center LaMarcus Aldridge and Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan.

Warriors guard and two-time MVP Stephen Curry topped the third team, coming up one point short of DeRozan in the voting. Curry was joined by Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo, Minnesota Timberwolves center/forward Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves forward/guard Jimmy Butler and Thunder forward Paul George.