This marks the fourth time both Bryant and Nowitzki have been named to the team.

It's a second for James, who this year was on the first team ballot of all 122 NBA sports reporters who took part in the voting. Bryant finished second with 119 first-team votes.

The NBA also announced its second- and third-team all-star squads on Wednesday.

Toronto Raptors centre Chris Bosh received 56 votes, but it wasn't enough to be named to one of the teams. Victoria's Steve Nash wasn't named to a team either. The Phoenix Suns point guard received only seven votes.

James, who led the Cleveland Cavaliers to two playoff sweeps and a franchise record for wins, was second in the league in scoring with 28.4 points, and finished in the top 10 in both steals and assists.

He led the Cavaliers to a franchise-best 66-16 record, including a 39-2 mark at home, and the team's first top seed in the playoffs.

Wade led the NBA in scoring with 30.2 points, finished second in steals and eighth in assists. This marks a first-time all-star selection for him.

Wade also became the first player in NBA history to reach 2,000 points, 500 assists and 150 steals in a season.

Howard became only the fourth player to lead the NBA in both blocked shots and rebounding since 1973-74, the year blocks became an official statistic. The six-foot-11-inch forward has averaged 20 points a game and leads the league with 16.1 rebounds in the playoffs.

Bryant averaged 26.8 points a game to finish third overall in the league and led the Lakers to a Western Conference-best 65-17 record, while Nowitzki was the league's fourth-leading scorer.

New Orleans guard Chris Paul, Tim Duncan of the Spurs, Paul Pierce of the Celtics, Houston's Yao Ming and Portland's Brandon Roy were named to the all- NBA second team.

The third team is Denver's Chauncey Billups and Tony Parker of San Antonio at guard, Denver's Carmelo Anthony and the Lakers' Pau Gasol at forward and the Suns' Shaquille O'Neal at centre.