Unconventional NBA Awards Ballot Draws Attention for Its Surprising Selections

After the 2018-19 NBA season, a particular All-NBA ballot caught the eye of basketball legend Dwyane Wade. Kennegh Lau from China's BesTV included Wade, who was on his farewell tour and averaging 15 points per game in 26 minutes, on his All-NBA Second Team. Wade responded to this choice on Twitter, saying, "The wife and I having a little fun. It’s so many guys in our league that’s deserving of a spot on either team or teams and it’s always someone that will be left off the list. It’s unfortunate but that’s the game. Klay understands that better than anyone." This selection stood out as the most unusual entry recorded in the Media Vote Tracker, a new tool that analyzes historical NBA voting patterns.

Lau's 2018-19 ballot was particularly striking, with a contrarian score of 36 percent, far exceeding the typical 5 percent score for average voters. Besides Wade, Lau also placed rookie Luka Doncic and Danilo Gallinari on his All-NBA Second Team. While Doncic had an impressive debut season, his team finished at the bottom of the Western Conference. Gallinari, although he had a career year with the Clippers, did not produce numbers that justified a Second Team selection. At that time, Wade's performance had dropped significantly, raising questions about his inclusion.

On Lau's All-NBA Third Team were Marvin Bagley, Pascal Siakam, and Donovan Mitchell. While Bagley averaged 14.9 points and 7.6 rebounds during his rookie year, Siakam had only recently begun to shine, posting 16.9 points and 6.9 rebounds. Mitchell's stats were more justifiable, but notably, none of the other 99 voters recognized any of these players on their ballots.

Perhaps most telling was who Lau omitted from his selections. Paul George, who made the First Team and finished third in MVP voting while averaging a career-high 25.6 points, did not make Lau's list at all. Other notable absentees included Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, and LeBron James. In contrast, Lau surprisingly included Jordan Bell on his All-Defensive Second Team, despite Bell averaging just 11.6 minutes a game and minimal defensive stats.

The trend continued with the Defensive Player of the Year voting, where Lau placed Rudy Gobert third, despite Gobert being the overwhelming favorite for the award. Instead, Lau opted for Draymond Green and Joel Embiid, neither of whom ranked in the top three overall. Given the unusual nature of this ballot, it was no surprise that it marked the end of Lau's voting career for NBA awards.