While there's no debate to be had about which of the NBA's conferences was stronger in the regular season, the playoffs are another matter.

There's no guarantee that the league's top dog in June will come from the Western Conference.

One place where there is equal representation, however, is in the ranks of the league's best players. Both conferences are represented equally on the AJC's All-NBA team, a 10-man squad that includes the best of the very best from the regular season:

ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM

Forward, Kevin Garnett, Boston

Key stats: 19.0 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists

Credited by Paul Pierce with changing the "culture" of an entire franchise, few players can match his prowess on offense and defense. Arguably the league's most feared on-ball defender, Garnett does everything his team needs from scoring to rebounding to blocking shots to being the master motivator.

Forward, LeBron James, Cleveland

Key stats: 30.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.3 assists

Statistically speaking, few players can match King James, who joins rare company (Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan) averaging better than 30 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. The Cavaliers' pedestrian record this season doesn't do justice to the season James has had individually. If the Cavs fizzle out early in the playoffs, they'll have squandered one of the truly fantastic seasons the league has seen in recent years.

Center, Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix

Key stats: 25.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks

Since the Shaquille O'Neal trade, Stoudemire has been able to shift to his more natural power forward position. But for the bulk of this season he served as the Suns' starting center, so that's where he'll go here. There's no way you could put together a top five list this year without his name being on it. Not only has he been dominant all season, he has carried the Suns during some rough patches (relatively speaking, of course) as they've adjusted to new additions O'Neal and Grant Hill.

Guard, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

Key stats: 28.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists

Regarded by most anyone who watches the league as the unquestioned best player on the planet, Bryant spends most nights proving exactly that. But it wasn't until this season that he was able to drag his team, including the likes of Sasha Vujacic and Luke Walton, to an elite level. For that alone Bryant will make the top two on most MVP ballots. But he's the one player on this list who truly has no peer at his position. The drop off to the next shooting guard is an enormous one.

Guard, Chris Paul, New Orleans

Key stats: 21.2 points, 11.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds

Three seasons is all it took for Paul to do what some predicted he never would when he was snubbed by three teams on draft night in 2005; become the league's top point guard. Night after night he pushed the Hornets past teams with far more talent. Always a talented floor leader and exquisite passer, Paul added a scoring dimension to his game this season that no one saw coming. Not only as his jump shot improved dramatically since his rookie season, Paul's scoring in traffic better than ever. And he's only going to keep improving.

ALL-NBA SECOND TEAM