Luka Doncic made All-NBA First Team, but a former NBA champion thinks the Los Angeles Lakers star didn’t deserve the spot.
The discussion comes after the All-NBA teams were officially announced, with most selections drawing little controversy at the top of the list. However, one inclusion sparked debate—Luka Dončić making First Team All-NBA, now playing for the Los Angeles Lakers after his blockbuster move.
A former NBA champion, Paul Pierce, publicly disagreed with that selection during an appearance on the NFG Show. Pierce argued that Dončić should not have been placed on the First Team and instead suggested that Jaylen Brown deserved that spot over him. The comments quickly circulated on social media after being reposted by NBA Courtside on X on May 25.
Pierce did not dismiss Doncic’s season outright. Luka led the league in scoring at 33.5 points per game, and Pierce acknowledged that. But he pointed to the supporting cast around him, specifically LeBron James being available all year and Austin Reaves for most of it.
“I know that’s saying a lot because Luka did lead the league in scoring, but he had more to work with, too. Think about it. He had LeBron all year. You got Reaves, you know, a lot of most of the year. Jaylen Brown, he did the most with the least out of all these guys that’s on this and maybe Cade Cunningham. I mean, you know, but Jaylen Brown didn’t have a second All-Star. A lot of these guys did. You know what I’m saying? So, I would have probably removed Luka for Jaylen.”
Paul Pierce says Jaylen Brown should have been first team All-NBA over Luka Doncic:
“I know that’s saying a lot because Luka did lead the league in scoring, but he had more to work with, too. Think about it. He had LeBron all year.
Paul Pierce Explains Why Jaylen Brown Deserved All-NBA First Team Over Luka Dončić.
Pierce’s case rests on Brown doing more with less. With Jayson Tatum out for the entire season due to an Achilles injury, Brown carried Boston alongside Derrick White and Anfernee Simons, averaging 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game.
Most of the other First Team players had a second All-Star to share the load. Doncic had LeBron. Cade Cunningham had Jalen Duren. Pierce felt Brown having neither of those things should have counted for more in the voting.
It is also worth remembering what Doncic looked like just weeks before the injury. In March alone, he scored exactly 600 points, averaging 37.5 points per game for the month, which was only the third time any player had reached 600 points in a single month since the 1977 merger. The Lakers went 15-2 that month, their best record in a single month since the 1999-2000 championship team.
Worth noting is that Doncic suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain on April 2, missed the final five regular season games, and sat out the entire postseason as the Lakers got swept by Oklahoma City in the second round. Even with all of that, 91 out of 100 voters still put him on the First Team, which says a lot about how his regular season was viewed.
Brown ended up on the All-NBA Second Team with 44 first-team votes, just behind Cunningham’s 60. Doncic collected 91 first-team votes and his sixth career First Team selection. Pierce makes a fair point about context, but the voters have spoken, and both players will have a case to make again when next season rolls around.
