Rose and James headline All-NBA 1st team

NEW YORK—Miami’s LeBron James and the man who ended his two-year reign as Most Valuable Player, Derrick Rose, headline the 2011 All-NBA first team announced on Thursday.

James, who won two straight MVP awards with Cleveland and has this season helped Miami reach the Eastern Conference finals, was the only unanimous choice, receiving 119 first-place votes from a sports media panel.

James earned first-team honors for the fourth straight season and fifth time overall while Rose, who became the NBA’s youngest MVP after leading the Bulls to the league’s best record of 62-20, earned his first All-NBA selection.

Joining James and Rose on the first team are Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.

Howard, an All-NBA first team selection for the fourth straight season, has already claimed the Defensive Player of the Year award, becoming the first player to win the award three straight seasons.

Bryant, an All-NBA first team selection for the sixth straight season and ninth time in his career, finished fifth in the league in scoring (25.3 ppg), while averaging 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists.

However, the honor will likely be little consolation to Bryant after the Lakers were swept out of the playoffs in the second round by Dallas.

Durant, who led the league in scoring with an average of 27.7 points per game, was selected to the first team for the second time.