As the talent of NBA players increases, it becomes more and more difficult select only 24 players to participate in the All-Star Game each year.
Rookies and second-year players are starting to make a more immediate impact. The 22- and 23-year-old players are starting to look like they’re in their prime, even though they know they have another level to exploit in the coming seasons. Even some of the teams with the worst records in the NBA have players who deserve a second chance to play with the best players in the world.
There is no better reminder that the league is in good hands than trying to whittle a team of 40+ highly gifted players down to 24leaving inevitably to some snubbing future stars to break the threshold of stardom.
And even more there is always a group of players that makes a significant leap year after yearflirting with chance to enter the All-Star Game for the first time. For that group, their All-Star chances usually come down to the number of available spots after the “safe” players on each team are determined.
In an effort to analyze the potential rookie All-Stars for the 2022-23 season, I first had to see how many seats were available. Take a look at the breakdown of each conference.
More | NBA All-Star 2023: how and where to vote, when voting starts and ends, and everything to pick the stars
Potential Eastern Conference Rookies
In the Eastern Conference, I counted six “safe” players for the All-Star Game: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Donovan Mitchell and Jaylen Brown.
The list of potential All-Stars in the East grew very quickly, including names like Pascal Siakam, Jimmy Butler, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Darius Garland, Bam Adebayo, DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday, Fred VanVleet. and Julius Randle.
Including four potential rookies, it is 16 players are vying for about six spots in the East.
my condolences to you Tyrese Maxeywho surely would have made this list had he remained healthy, or Bojan Bogdanovicwho would represent the Pistons if the NBA adopted the MLB format of one All-Star per team.
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Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
Of all the potential rookie All-Stars, Haliburton appears to have the best chance of being selected. The 22-year-old has been one of the NBA’s best playmakers this season, making the leap to All-Star level as candidate for Most Improved Player of the Year.
Halliburton leads the entire league with 310 total assists and 10.7 assists per game. He had a three-game hitting streak with 40 assists and zero turnovers. something that had never been accomplished in NBA history. He is scoring 19.5 points for his career and his 18 double-doubles are the most by a point guard and third in the NBA behind Nikola Jokic, Domantas Sabonis and Anthony Davis.
Except, he has been the cornerstone of the Pacers franchisekeeping his team around a 50% win rate and almost surpassing his win prediction before the halfway mark of the season.
That sounds like an All-Star to me. In fact, given Indiana’s much more competitive than expected performance, Haliburton could be even closer to “fixed” status you are really on the fence.
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
It’s been more than 30 years since a New York Knicks point guard made the All-Star team. In fact, when Mark Jackson did it in 1989, Jalen Brunson wasn’t even born.
The former Dallas Mavericks faced a lot of pressure this offseason after signing a four-year, $104 million contract with the Knicks. In his first 30 games, he’s playing so well that it’s starting to look like New York may have gotten him for less than he’s really worth.
Brunson is averaging 20.8 points, 6.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game.. He already has five 30-point games and eight games with eight or more assists this season. He’s also established himself as the Knicks’ best crunch time closer, as his 60 crunch time points are tied for the third-best mark in the NBA.
With New York turning its season around on an eight-game winning streak, Branson is entering All-Star territory. However, he will have to outdo his teammate, Randle, to do so.
Tyler Herro, Miami Heat
Herro is an odd case, because getting into the All-Star would mean that he should get past Butler and Adebayo, given the current position of the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference standings. Even so, He deserves a mention for how important he was to Miami this season.
After a campaign like Sixth man of the yearHerro takes on his new role as a starter, with averages 21.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 0.9 steals per game. With Butler missing a handful of games due to injury, Hero has taken over as the team’s leading scorer and is hot once the all-star voting has begun.
Recently, Herro had a two-game hitting streak in which he scored 35 points, hit nine 3-pointers and won the game, followed by a performance of 41 points and 10 3-pointers. He joined two of the greatest 3-point shooters in history – Stephen Curry and James Harden – as only players who make nine or more 3-pointers in two consecutive games.
Before you jump to the assumption that Miami’s All-Star should be Butler or Adebayo, take another look at Herro.
Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
OK, it’s hard to argue with a rookie on a team with an 11-20 record, but The banker deserves a mention. The No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA draft made the transition to the NBA look easy, averaging 22.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.
He has more games with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists than the entire rookie class combined. His three 30-point games are tied for the rest of the rookie class, while his 19 20-point games are the best mark by far.
He may not become the first rookie All-Star since Blake Griffin in 2009, but he will cross the All-Star threshold sooner rather than later. Oh, speaking of potential Orlando Magic All-Stars, Franz Wagner would also like to say a few words.
Possible Western Conference Rookies
In the Western Conference I counted eight “safeties” for the Game of the Stars: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, Ja Morant and Zion Williamson.
While there are more of them than the East had, the list of players in the debate is significantly smaller, down to three names – Damian Lillard, Paul George and Brandon Ingram – who have missed games due to injury this season (For what it’s worth, Kawhi Leonard simply hasn’t played enough games to be considered.)
Including four potential rookie All-Stars, There are about nine players fighting for the final four spots in the West.
condolences to Desmond Bainwhose toe injury marred a potential All-Star bid, already CJ McCollumwho throughout his career has been on the verge of being an All-Star, and who chose a difficult year to start the season late. For now, Davis is still safe, but that could prove moot. depending on how much time the Lakers waste.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Although not included in the previous section, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looks like a set man for the All-Star Game of this season. Even though the Oklahoma City Thunder have one of the worst records in the league, Gilgeous-Alexander has been amazing this season.
The 24-year-old is average 31.2 points with 5.8 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals and one block per game. His 69 points in the clutch it’s the second-best record in the NBA, along with his 19 30-point games. He has already thrown several game-changing pitches for OKC this year and has established himself as one of the most promising young talents in the league.
Shai’s rise to stardom is upon us. The only thing holding SGA back would be a further drop to the OKC Thunder in the standings. Even so, They could probably lose every game from here on out and be on the All-Star roster in February.
De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings
Fox has been the driving force behind the Kings’ exciting – and surprising – start to the season. On average 22.6 points, 5.8 assists and 5 reboundshas put the Kings firmly in contention for a spot in the Western Conference Playoffs, looking for ending the longest playoff drought in professional sports in the United States (2005-06, 17 years old).
If the Kings manage to keep one Playoff-worthy record, Fox should be in his first All-Star Game.
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
The new Timberwolves took some time to adjustbut Edwards is starting to find his footing while Minnesota deals with injuries. With Karl-Anthony Towns out with an injury, Edwards took over as the leader of Minnesota’s offense.
is an average 22.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.9 steals per gamewhile shooting a career-high 45.6 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from 3-point range.
With the Timberwolves starting to shake things up a bit, Edwards could sneak into All-Star contention if he can keep his team in playoff contention during the voting period.
Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz
Markkanen has been one of the more positive stories of the season so far, as the former top-10 draft pick has played to his full potential. Markkanen is enjoying a great, average season 22.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game with impressive shooting percentages of 52.8 / 41.8 / 84.3.
The Utah Jazz were expected to be one of the worst (if not the worst) teams in the NBA this season, leading the Lottery for Victor Webanyama. Utah was projected to win 23.5 games in 2022-23 Y He already has 17 wins after 32 matcheswith the leaping Markkanen playing a huge role in the Jazz exceeding expectations.
With the Utah Jazz in the Play-In Tournament Series, they could get an All-Star pick, and Markkanen comes across as an easy choice.
The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
