What are Victor Oladipo’s chances of making an All-NBA Team?

The final spot

The last spot on one of the teams (I don’t say “Third Team,” because it’s entirely possible that this person will make the Second Team) will go to one of the following four guards: Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry or Oladipo.

Let’s start with Kyrie, who in all likelihood will be out for the rest of the season and finish up with 60 games played. The players who have made All-NBA teams and played so few times have had seasons that, had they played fuller slates, would have made them no-doubt-about-it inclusions. Yet even if Irving had played 75 or so games, his stats don’t separate him from the pack, and the Celtics have gone just 35-21 after their hot start.

Still, Kyrie has the 30/60 usage/true shooting combo going for him, and he’s ninth in the league in scoring. Boston is likely going to finish with the fourth-best record in the league, and having no Celtics occupying any of the 15 roster spots would feel wrong. In this way, oddly enough, Irving’s candidacy may rest on that of his teammate, Al Horford.

If Horford snags the Third Team center spot after Joel Embiid and LaMarcus Aldridge, voters might feel better about leaving Irving off. Of course, that would require voters putting Anthony Davis at one of the forward spots and vaulting Horford past Karl-Anthony Towns, who has far superior stats. My guess: Davis gets voted in as a forward, Horford makes the Third Team, and Kyrie gets the short end of the stick. My head hurts.

As far as the Raptors duo, it sounds simplistic to say that DeRozan and Lowry won’t both make it, but, well…DeRozan and Lowry won’t both make it. There just doesn’t seem to be the groundswell of support for what this particular Toronto team has done in a conference that is still viewed as inferior. DeRozan has claimed the title of “Best Raptor” this season, fairly or unfairly, so if anyone gets on, he’s the pick.