Jayson Tatum sticks up for Joel Embiid with sensible All-NBA suggestion

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Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid finished second in NBA MVP voting this year. He was the second- or third-best player in the league this season.

And yet, because of how the All-NBA process works, the superstar big man was not one of the five players named to the first team Tuesday.

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who edged out Embiid for his second consecutive MVP award, was the center on the All-NBA first team. These teams are based on positions, so Embiid had to be on the second team despite having more first-place votes and total points for the first team than Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum.

Tatum was asked about the All-NBA process Wednesday before the Celtics' pivotal Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat. Tatum has had his own frustrations with All-NBA voting. Failing to make any of the three teams last season cost him about $30 million on his current contract.

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The Celtics superstar wouldn't mind seeing the All-NBA process done a bit differently going forward.

"I do think it probably should be positionless," Tatum told reporters. "Joel Embiid was second in MVP voting and made second team, it doesn't really make too much sense, right? I think it should be the 15 best players."

Tatum makes a good suggestion. Just having voters choose the 15 best players for the three All-NBA teams seems like a pretty fair approach. Many players are used in different positions throughout the season, so forcing them into just one for All-NBA voting isn't the most efficient way of doing it.

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