Gators Lee, Noah, Beal earn 2012-13 NBA honors

By Adam Silverstein
May 23, 2013

Three former Florida Gators basketball players – two veterans and one rookie – earned 2012-13 regular season honors from the NBA this year.

On Thursday, Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee was named to the All-NBA third team, becoming just the second player in school history to receive such an honor (Al Horford, third team, 2010-11). Lee concluded the season first in the league in double-doubles and top-five in defensive rebounds, total rebounds and efficiency. He was also top-10 in field goals made and triple-doubles.

Lee averaged a double-double of 18.5 points and 11.2 rebounds (with 3.5 assists) per game while shooting .519 from the field and .797 from the charity stripe.

Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah was chosen to the NBA’s All-Defensive team for the second time in three years and remains the only Florida player to ever receive the honor. He was chosen for the second team in 2010-11 but garnered first-team honors this season as he received eight first-place votes (out of 30 voters).

Noah ranked in the top-10 in offensive rebounds, blocks and triple-doubles this season. He averaged career-bests of 11.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.2 steals in a career-high 36.8 minutes per game in 2012-13.

Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal was a near-unanimous selection to the NBA All-Rookie first team, receiving 28-of-29 first-place votes.

Beal became the sixth Gators player to be chosen to the All-Rookie team (Jason Williams, Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem, Horford, Chandler Parsons) and the fourth to be picked for the first team (Williams, Miller, Horford).

While battling through numerous injuries, Beal averaged 13.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting .410 from the field, .386 from three and .786 from the free throw line in 31.2 minutes per game.

At least one former Florida player was named to each of the three teams in the same season for the first time in school history.

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