MINNEAPOLIS — Nikola Jokic is breaking the game. The Cleveland Outlaws star just earned his fourth consecutive COMO MVP award, topping former Shorewood teammate Giannis Antetkounmpo's shared record of three straight (2018-2020). Those two were, naturally, the primary focus of All-COMO voting this week, as they were among five players receiving unanimous support for first-team inclusion. The others in the "100" club: Hamburg (via Cream City) star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Scranton's Anthony Davis, and Paisley Park's Luka Doncic.
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While three consecutive COMO MVPs is undeniably impressive, the basketball world is a little bit *over* the Nikola Jokic awards conversation (and Jokic is, too). So, let's focus on some first-timers. On Thursday afternoon, Cream City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Scranton forward Jayson Tatum were both named first-team All-COMO for the first time (it's their first appearance on any of the All-COMO teams). They were joined by mainstays Luka Doncic (fourth time on the first team), Giannis Antetokounmpo (seventh), Joel Embiid (fourth), and, of course, Jokic (third). Chaska's Paolo Banchero won Rookie of the Year, while Scranton GM Sam Twetan took home the Executive of the Year award for the first time. Other notes: LeBron James and James Harden both made the second team. They're the only players to make an All-COMO team every single season in the 10-year history of the league. Anthony Davis also earned a second-team nod, the ninth All-COMO selection of his career. The third team featured a trio of first-timers: Anthony Edwards, Lauri Markkanen, and Julius Randle. Ja Morant snuck past Pascal Siakim for the final spot. 2022-2023 All-COMO selectionsFirst Team
PG - Luka Doncic, Kansas City (4th 1st-team selection, 4th overall) 💯 SG - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cream City (1st, 1st) SF - Jayson Tatum, Scranton (1st, 1st) PF - Giannis Antetokounmpo, Minnesnowta (7th, 7th) 💯 C - Nikola Jokic, Cleveland (3rd, 5th) 💯 6th - Joel Embiid, Hamburg BSV (4th, 4th) 💯 unanimous 1st-team selection Second Team PG - Damian Lillard, Sunnyvale/Memphis (5th overall) SG - James Harden, Sunnyvale (10th) SF - LeBron James, Manhattan (10th) PF - Domantas Sabonis, Scranton (4th) C - Anthony Davis, Newport Beach (9th) 6th - Kevin Durant, Shorewood/Manhattan (7th) Third Team PG - Stephen Curry, West Grove United (7th) SG - Anthony Edwards, Sunnyvale (1st) SF - Lauri Markkanen, Chaska (1st) PF - Julius Randle, Cream City/Minnesnowta (1st) C - Bam Adebayo, Shorewood/Cleveland (3rd) 6th - Ja Morant, Memphis (2nd) Also receiving votes: Pascal Siakam, Manhattan (7pts), Kyrie Irving, Hamburg BSV/Scranton (5), Nikola Vucevic, Memphis (4), Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland (3), Tyrese Haliburton, Newport Beach (3), Demar DeRozan, Scranton (1), Kristaps Porzingis, Hamburg BSV/Cream City (1), De'Aaron Fox, West Grove United (1) ST. PAUL, Minn. — Welcome to the club, Nikola Jokic. On Thursday morning, the "Joker" became the third man in COMO history to win multiple MVP awards, joining Anthony Davis (2015 and '17) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (2018, '19, and '20). Jokic, who currently stars for the Minnesnowta Chill after opening the season with the hapless Newport Beach Grizzlies, became the first player to win MVP with two different COMO teams; he also won last year with Shorewood. Minnesnowta (51-19) faces rival Scranton (48-22) in a Best-of-3 first-round series that tips Thursday night in St. Paul. (Also notable: Scranton's Evan Mobley edged out Shorewood's Scottie Barnes for Rookie of the Year. Scroll to end of this page to see the All-COMO teams.) Hamburg's Buscaglia wins COMO Executive of the YearBut Jokic and the Chill aren't even the top dogs in their own conference. That distinction belongs to Hamburg BSV (51-19), led by fourth-year GM Joe Buscaglia. In a poll of league execs, Buscaglia was a runaway winner for Executive of the Year, earning 6 votes out of 14 ballots (second place was a three-way tie at 2 votes apiece). In an interview Wednesday evening, he called the award "an insane honor," and thanked the panel. "I've learned a lot more about the league since doing the expansion route and found a strategy that worked for me," Buscaglia said. He noted two moves in particular that turned his team into a winner: Last year's eyebrow-raising trade of marquee superstar Kevin Durant, and this past offseason's free-agency signing of Rudy Gobert. The Villagers are flush with talent, and have the balanced look of a champion. They'll just need to survive an insane Empire bracket that includes Minnesnowta (51-19), Scranton (48-22) and first-round matchup Kansas City (43-27), which took two straight from Hamburg last month to earn the inaugural Butterburger® Classic. 2022 All-COMO teams1st Team
PG • LeBron James, Manhattan (7th 1st, 9th overall) SG • Luka Doncic, Kansas City (3rd 1st, 3rd overall) SF • Kevin Durant, Memphis/Shorewood (5th 1st, 6th overall) PF • Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shorewood (6th 1st, 6th overall) C• Nikola Jokic, Newport Beach/Minnesnowta (2nd 1st, 4th overall) 6th • Joel Embiid, Memphis/Manhattan (3rd 1st, 3rd overall) 2nd Team PG • Dejounte Murray, Sunnyvale (1st) SG • James Harden, Sunnyvale (9th; first time not on 1st team) SF • DeMar DeRozan, Kansas City (1st) PF • Anthony Davis, Chaska/Hamburg BSV (8th; first seven appearances were all first-team) C • Rudy Gobert, Hamburg BSV (3rd) 6th • Karl-Anthony Towns, Duval United (5th) 3rd Team PG • Trae Young, Newport Beach (1st) SG • Ja Morant, Memphis (1st) SF • Jimmy Butler, Scranton/Cleveland (5th) PF • Domantas Sabonis, Scranton (3rd) C • Pascal Siakim, Manhattan (1st) 6th • Nikola Vucevic, Minnesnowta (3rd) --- Also receiving votes: Jarrett Allen, Scranton (4), Jayson Tatum, Memphis/Scranton (3), Stephen Curry, Scranton (2), Chris Paul, Kansas City (2), Miles Bridges, Minnesnowta (2), Robert Williams III, Hamburg BSV (1), LaMelo Ball, Minnesnowta (1) NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The executives have voted, and three players are unanimous All-COMO 1st Team selections this year: Shorewood's Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Kansas City's Luka Doncic. Re-printed with special permission from the Kansas City Star.
ORLANDO, Fla. — After several months of chaos, COMO has finally been able to narrow down its contenders to two. The Chaska Moose and Sunnyvale Slayers are in the midst of an entertaining—though clearly unorthodox—COMO Finals. They survived a group semifinal that eliminated four teams, and, provided COVID-19 steers clear of the bubble, one of them will be crowned champion. The league did its best to make this as normal of a process as possible. And it deserves kudos for doing so. But it can't completely cover up the talent vacuum in Orlando. Saturday's announcement of the All-COMO teams (voted on in February) made sure of that. Look no further than the Kansas City for proof. The Monarchs won the regular season championship with a 63-19 record. Damian Lillard, LeBron James and Luka Doncic all earned All-COMO first team honors. Yet, the Monarchs were somehow bounced from the playoffs in their first round of action, and were not invited to the restart. (Previously, the Monarchs had only landed four selections on an All-COMO team in six seasons; Lillard and Marc Gasol on the second team in 2014-2015, Lillard on the third team in 2018-2019, and LeBron James on the second team in 2018-2019.) Based on player performance in the NBA bubble, the Monarchs would've likely blown through the COMO field, had they still been eligible. Players such as Michael Porter, Jr., have taken star turns on the NBA side, while Nowland and a crushed Monarchs fan base are watching, helpless. Mad-hattan Kansas City lost, fair and square, in March, so it's hard to feel too much despair for them. If you're going to give your sympathy to a franchise, make it Manhattan. The Monarchs landed two players on the All-COMO second team—Trae Young and Domantas Sabonis—but neither one was available to play in the restart. Also missing from action: future first-ballot COMO Hall of Famer Stephen Curry. "Selfishly, it just is tough that I realistically have a much worse shot at winning now," GM Alex Krause said in late July. "Even though my team was the next best team up after KC got beat." Sure enough, the Spiders folded like a cheap Samsonite as Chaska and Sunnyvale—both healthy and at the peak of their power—distanced themselves from the rest of the field. Other All-COMO players who missed the bubble, either due to elimination or injury, included the following: Paisley Park's Anthony Davis and Ben Simmons, Duval United's Andre Drummond, Newport Beach's Russell Westbrook, and Tampa's Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler. Right timing for Moose, Slayers If you're scanning the All-COMO teams for a member of the Chaska Moose, you'll be looking forever. There isn't a single one. It's the first time in league history that a Finals team doesn't have a regular season All-COMO selection (and the league didn't even name three teams until last year). But, thanks to the timing of the bubble, Chaska is poised to win its first title. The Moose feature a strong, veteran group of guards (Chris Paul, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry) as well as fully healthy Zion Williamson and a peaking Kristaps Porzingis. Throw in other vets with Finals experience—Paul Millsap and Al Horford—and you've got a winning formula. Meanwhile, the top-heavy Sunnyvale Slayers are looking just as worthy for the crown. Top-loaded with James Harden, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard, they're hitting their stride at the perfect time. COMO fans are surely pleased with such an intriguing matchup, but it's also fair to wonder what might've been in April. Here's a look at the three All-COMO teams. All-COMO 1st Team
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The league office announced its three All-COMO teams Thursday afternoon, and two players — Shorewood's Giannis Antetokounmpo and Sunnyvale's James Harden — received unanimous first-team nods. Antetokounmpo, a.k.a. the "Greek Freak," and Harden are considered the two favorites for MVP, which will be announced separately in the coming days. Kansas City's Luka Doncic won the league's Rookie of the Year award by default. Seventeen of the 19 All-COMO selections are set to the begin chasing a championship Thursday night, including a trio from the league's top team, Minnesnowta (67-15). Point guard Kyrie Irving and centers Nikola Vucevic and Rudy Gobert were all named to the All-COMO third team. Harden headlined Sunnyvale's pair of selections. The Slayers (65-17) posted the fourth-best regular season record in league history, but had to settle for the No. 2 seed. Small forward Paul George was also named to the All-COMO first team. Here's a closer look at the teams: All-COMO 1st Team
All-COMO 2nd Team
All-COMO 3rd Team
Notes
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The commissioner's office announced the 2014-2015 All-COMO teams on Wednesday afternoon. • Shorewood and Hollywood led all teams with three selections, while Shorewood became the first COMO franchise to have three first-team All-COMO selections. • Kansas City was the only team with two selections this year, while Rio and Newport Beach failed to place any players (Note: Russell Westbrook and John Wall would've easily been second-team selections if Newport actually played them). • Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James and Anthony Davis all repeated as first-teamers. Chris Paul moved up from second team in 2013-2014 to first team this season. • DeMarcus Cousins repeated as a second-teamer, while the six remaining players made an All-COMO team for the first time. Here are the official teams: FIRST TEAMPG — Stephen Curry (Golden State), Shorewood Show [60 starts // 28.32 average] SG — James Harden (Houston), Colorado Hilltoppers [61 starts // 30.26 average] SF — LeBron James (Cleveland), Minneapolis Player Haterzz/Shorewood Show [52 starts // 27.08 average] PF — Pau Gasol (Chicago), Shorewood Show [60 starts // 27.53 average] C — Anthony Davis (New Orleans), Hollywood Hornets [47 starts // 34.28 average] 6TH — Chris Paul (L.A. Clippers), Hollywood Hornets [62 starts // 26.98 average] SECOND TEAMPG — Eric Bledsoe (Phoenix), Minnesnowta Chill [60 starts // 21.65 average]
SG — Damian Lillard (Portland), Kansas City Monarchs [55 starts // 22.29 average] SF — Jimmy Butler (Chicago), Hollywood Hornets [43 starts // 24.98 average] PF — DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento), Chaska Moose [41 starts // 29.59 average] C — DeAndre Jordan (L.A. Clippers), Duval United [63 starts // 26.57 average] 6TH — Marc Gasol (Memphis), Kansas City [60 starts // 24.85 average] |
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