5 Potential First Time All-Star’s This NBA Season
All sports fan always complain about the All Star game being dead as older players are not incentivized to take the game seriously. And to the general NBA fans, they don’t recognize the new generation players that are up next and wouldn’t want to watch them. All Stars are the pinnacle achievement for an NBA player, there are countless factors that decide whether a player will be named an NBA All Star including many out of their control such as external voters, fanbase biases, injuries, internal game plans and roles. However, at the end of the day, many casual fans think it comes down to a numbers game. Players averaging a lot of points, rebounds and assists often get their flowers and statistics like turnovers, player efficiency and advanced statistics often get swept under the rug.
In this article, I hope to “put on” the average NBA fan to these 5 breakout NBA players that I think could be first time All Stars this year and are some names worth familiarizing yourself with for the next few years. In last year’s All Star game we had 6 first time All Stars featuring the likes of Victor Wembanyama, Alperen Sengun, Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Tyler Herro and Jalen Williams.
Source: Yahoo Sports
Of these first time All Stars, Victor Wembanyama is now in the midst of his breakout year reaching for a deep playoff run with a talented young Spurs team.
Evan Mobley coming off of a DPOY season and taking a huge leap offensively over the past two years, being a key reason the Cavs went 64–18 last year.
And not to mention Jalen Williams coming off a championship year with the Thunder, scoring 40 points in the finals and being one of the best Robbins to Shai’s Batman that we have seen in quite some time.
I am excited to see what this year’s first time All Stars get up to past All Star break and hope the NBA begins to market the next generation. Disclaimer, this list is in no particular order and I believe Josh Giddy will be All Star bound this year but wanted to shine the light on a few other players with this article as well.
1. Jalen Duren
Funnily enough, I was talking to my friend during the offseason and randomly asked him if he thought Jalen Duren could be an All Star next year if the Pistons take another leap. To which he replied, probably not. And in all fairness this was a valid take for many reasons, but Jalen Duren has been quietly putting up a monster start to the season.
Source: Jalen Duren Fantasy Outlook: Should You Draft the Detroit Pistons Center This Year?
Jalen Duren is averaging 19.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.1 stocks a game on absurd efficiency while anchoring one of the NBA’s most surprising defenses. Playing like the second best player on the Detroit Pistons as the first seed, who have been quietly racking up the wins sitting at 7–2 atop of the Eastern Conference. He has taken a jump from 11.8 points last year to 19.2 this year through 9 games.
He has been showing much better discipline than last year where he would get into foul trouble and fail to convert his free throws. But this year, he’s getting to the line, knocking em down and is turning into a two way force. If the Pistons keep a top 5 seed in the east, I can definitely see them getting a second All Star alongside Cade Cunningham. Also, the east front court is probably the weakest position in comparison to the rest of the league with likely only two-three locked players being Giannis, Mobley and Paolo Banchero.
This leaves the door wide open for Jalen Duren. Not to mention a young core of Cade, Ausar, Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren can be a threat to challenge some teams in their second playoff run together.
2. Deni Avdija
One of the most criminally underrated players in today’s game, Deni Avidia. Here comes his breakout year with the stats impossible to ignore. Deni has been looked away from as an All Star kind of guy due to lack of team success and other inefficiencies like too many turnovers. However, this year he is averaging 24.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 46.5% from the field and 36% from deep.
Original post: “Deni Avdija”
Deni is an all around offensive engine, the kind of versatile playmaker the Trailblazers have needed. He is pushing the pace every game, getting to the cup, making the right reads and this season it’s translating to wins. He has Portland sitting at 5th in the west currently at 5–3 and if he can have the Blazers sitting in and around the play-in tournament, I think he deserves to be an All Star. Not to mention a huge jump from 16.9 ppg last season to 24.4 (+7.5 ppg).
Get Shrav Agnihotri’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Playing in a place like Portland where nothing is certain, they are expecting big years from Shaedon Sharpe, Donavon Clingan and more internal team development. Deni has been the catalyst for them, if he can keep that turnover number down averaging almost 4 a game right now. I can see him be All Star bound in a western conference where Lebron might miss his first All Star game since his rookie year as he’s out with injury and no usual Jalen Williams this year as well. He could sneak in as an injury replacement or onto the bench.
3. Chet Holmgren
Source: “Chet Holmgren: Multiple Chances To Make History”
Coming off of a championship, Chet Holmgren in just his third season is looking to be All Star bound. He is exactly what you want from a unicorn big stepping into a bigger role with Jalen Williams missing time. OKC’s defence is one of the best in the league again and no doubt that is thanks to Chet.
He’s averaging 18.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists with roughly 3 stocks on the road while shooting an absurd 54.4 percent from the field and shooting at a good clip from three. The blend of size, shooting and rim protection makes him an asset and it is what’s keeping OKC as the team to beat atop of the western conference again. With their 9–1 start, I have no doubt they will have 2 All Stars and Chet deserves his flowers for OKC’s continued success.
I see him joining Wemby, Jokic in the All Star game as a front court selection in the west for sure.
4. Franz Wagner
Source: “Franz Wagner Has Truly Become One of the NBA’s Most Versatile, Complete Players”
Franz Wagner continues to be one of the league’s most overlooked rising stars. Every year he’s been in the league he’s been adding to his game, now he is one of the most well rounded wings in the NBA. Last year he averaged 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists while shooting 46.3% from the field and 30% from three. He carried a young Magic core without Paolo and kept them afloat last year and this year he is starting to get back in that rhythm. Franz is averaging 22.6 points, 5.6 boards and 3.6 assists and shooting 38% from three and 50% from the field. The numbers alone look All Star level but the true story is that he is one of the most versatile offensive wings in the league. A great pick and roll player, secondary creator and his combination of size and playmaking makes it impossible to take him off the floor.
Even with the Magic’s early season struggles, it does not question Franz’s game. There are bigger problems in Orlando…
Through the first 9 games they are sitting at 4–5 and their supposed best 3 point shooter Desmond Bane who they acquired this offseason is shooting just 30% from three and making under two a game. Paolo has not looked like himself either with some ballsy clutch moments and some inconsistent performances. This has put the pressure on Franz to keep this Magic team alive for the regular season.
There is also some conversation inside media coverage about Jamahl Mosley’s offensive usage of Franz, analysts and fans aren’t happy with him being placed in the corner on offense and not getting enough touches. This is understandable knowing Franz is their best playmaker and can hit big shots down the stretch and everything in Orlando seems to be a mess right now but with some coaching adjustments, I still believe Franz is talented enough to sneak into the All Star game this year.
5. Jalen Johnson
Source: “Former Nicolet star, Hawks forward Jalen Johnson posterizes Lakers”
Jalen Johnson is one of the anticipated players to take that next jump in their production and last year before his torn labrum that cut his season to just 36 games. Jalen was averaging 18.9 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists with 2.6 stocks a game. Jalen Johnson is one of the most impactful and athletic transition players in todays game. He’s a two way engine who thrives in a secondary creator role alongside Trae Young.
Speaking of Trae Young, who has been sidelined until late November/early December. Jalen Johnson has been given the keys to keep Atlanta afloat through his offensive production and playmaking for the next 8–12 games. Through his first 10 games this season he’s averaging 20.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists. Shooting 58% from the field and 82.4% from the stripe. I definitely see these numbers inflating over the next month and can see him averaging around 22, 10 and 6. Jalen Johnson is one of the best rebounding forwards in the league with games bringing in over 13 this season. Jalen Johnson will become a leader on and off the court taking on tougher defensive assignments in a glorified point forward role. He hasn’t been shooting it well from three just 25% but if he can pick that up and keep the Hawks afloat while Trae Young is gone I think he definitely deserves some All Star flowers.
Not to mention, the east forward’s are the least competitive pool of any other position/conference leaving the door wide open for Jalen.
HM: Josh Giddey, Jamal Murray, OG Anunoby
Conclusion
At the end of the day, the NBA is a league driven by it’s stars and more importantly future stars. Every season we get a new wave of young talent pushing the game forward and it is fun trying to project which players will take that next leap into All star territory. The next generation is already here and I hope the NBA does a better job marketing their young stars as fans deserve to be put on notice to these great talents. This is what keeps the league fresh, fun and exciting. I hope you enjoyed this article, as this is my first article, I would appreciate it if you could leave some feedback or comments on my page. More NBA content coming soon…
