Making the NBA All-Star team these days is no joke. There are so many truly great players in the NBA, probably more than at any point in the league's history, and so few spots available. But this coming season feels ripe for some new faces in the All-Star Game. If you look at last season's rosters, once you get past the superstar locks (barring injury), there could be as many as 10 open spots, if not more depending on injuries and how quickly a player like, say, Victor Oladipo returns to form.
Oladipo was an All-Star last season but was replaced by D'Angelo Russell, who is gone to the Western Conference. Kawhi Leonard also went West. That's one spot that's for sure open in the East, and again, potentially two depending on how Oladipo bounces back. Beyond that, Kyle Lowry, Nikola Vucevic and Khris Middleton are hardly locks to make the team again. That could be five spots open in the East, and Blake Griffin is always an injury risk. That could be six spots.
Out West, there isn't quite as much opportunity. Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant are for sure out from last year's team, but Kawhi will take one of those spots barring injury. LaMarcus Aldridge and perhaps Russell Westbrook, depending on how he fares next to James Harden, could be in jeopardy of losing a spot, but Westbrook feels pretty safe with the numbers he's almost certainly going to put up in Houston. We'll meet in the middle and say between two and three spots are likely up for grabs, and that's if none of the big names suffer injuries, which could easily happen.
So that's the very rough math. All told, there could be a total of 8-10 spots very realistically open -- and some of those spots will in all likelihood be filled by players making their first appearance. Here are 10 players who've never made an All-Star team who figure to be in the running to do so this coming season.
| 1 | 
Devin Booker
Phoenix Suns SF
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| Booker averaged just under 27 points and seven assists last season. The Suns are likely going to be better than they have been in the past. Ricky Rubio's presence will allow Booker to concentrate on scoring, and he's going to do a ton of that. Booker has made solid strides as a playmaker as well. You can talk about Booker as a "good stats, bad team" guy all you want, but at a certain point, when you're putting up 25-30 points with ease night after night, you're going to be an All-Star. This feels like Booker's year. | |
| 2 | 
Luka Doncic
Dallas Mavericks SF
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| Doncic was historically great in his rookie season, and now he has Kristaps Porzingis next to him to take some defensive attention and be a finisher for Doncic's special passing ability, which wasn't showcased to its full extent in Year One. Dennis Smith Jr. is gone and the ball will be in Doncic's hands full time. We've seen guys have great rookie seasons only to take a step back in year two; it happens quite often, in fact. But don't bet on that with Doncic. He's uniquely skilled, for starters, in terms of being able to adapt to the different defensive coverages he'll certainly see in his second year, and aside from that, he's been a pro for so long that last season didn't really feel like a regular rookie year. | |
| 3 | 
Donovan Mitchell
Utah Jazz SG
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| Mitchell is primed to have a huge year. The Jazz added Mike Conley to take care of their point guard problem, and now Mitchell doesn't need to worry so much about all the "run the team" details that likely took a toll on his premier skill of attacking the basket and flat-out scoring the basketball. Utah also brought in Bojan Bogdanovic, who is legitimately one of the best shooters in the world. Add it up, and Mitchell is going to have a clearly defined role to attack, attack, attack, and better floor spacing with which to do it. Also, don't look past the Team USA factor. There is a history of guys having great seasons after a summer playing with the national team. | |
| 4 | 
Tobias Harris
Philadelphia 76ers SF
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| Harris will get more opportunity this season to make plays and have the ball in his hands than he did last season with the presence of Jimmy Butler. Frankly, Harris deserved to be an All-Star last season but was traded from the West to the East in early February and it just made for a weird voting situation. The Sixers are going to be really good, and three All-Stars from a team that will almost certainly be near the top of the standings come All-Star time feels like a good bet. Harris is a better bet than Josh Richardson or Al Horford -- or at least he better be, as Philly just gave him $180 million. | |
| 5 | 
Jayson Tatum
Boston Celtics SF
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| Kyrie out, Kemba in, and it really feels like this Celtics team has a much better vibe than last season's version. Yes, Kemba Walker is high usage and plays a lot like Kyrie Irving, but it still feels like it's going to be a more inclusive attack this season -- one that reflects Walker's galvanizing personality -- and Tatum should benefit greatly from that. Entering his third season, Tatum is no longer feeling his way out; he's going to be expected to probably be the No. 2 option for Boston, at least as far as an offensive hierarchy goes on a team that should operate its best in a more equal-opportunity system. However it shakes out, he's going to be depended upon as a go-to scorer/playmaker, and he definitely has the ability to do that on an All-Star level in the Eastern Conference. | |
| 6 | 
Pascal Siakam
Toronto Raptors PF
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| If you thought, by season's end, that Pascal Siakam was the second-best player on the Raptors as they made their way to the first championship in franchise history, then it stands to reason you now think he's the best player on the Raptors with the departure of Kawhi. The biggest question: Is he actually mentally ready, and skill-equipped, to be a No. 1 guy on a playoff team? If he is, an All-Star nod is well within range, because the bottom line is when Siakam is on his game, he can look like the best player on the court at times, against anyone. | |
| 7 | 
Trae Young
Atlanta Hawks PG
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| If Young was in the Western Conference, it would be preposterous to even whisper about him as a potential All-Star, but he's in the East and he's already really good, at least on the offensive end, which is mostly what making the All-Star team is about. He's a truly special passer and there's a good chance his 3-point shooting improves in his second season. Averaging 20 points and eight or nine assists -- heck, even a 20-10 season -- is not out of the question for Young. If he is tracking those kinds of numbers through February, he'll have to get at least some All-Star consideration. | |
| 8 | 
John Collins
Atlanta Hawks PF
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| The Hawks are not going to get two players in the All-Star Game. If they even get one, it'll either be Young or Collins, and the latter, from a pure basketball standpoint, is perhaps the better bet. From an excitement standpoint, Young will capture attention easier and more often, but Collins is a 20-10 candidate as well who should be talked about as one of the game's emerging stars a lot more than he is. Perhaps the attention Young brings to the Hawks will, by extension, finally open a lot of people's eyes to how good John Collins is and can be moving forward. | |
| 9 | 
CJ McCollum
Portland Trail Blazers SG
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| McCollum would be an All-Star in the East. He carried Portland for huge stretches in the run to the conference finals last season. He's one of the best one-on-one creators and pure shotmakers in the league. He's down the list here because, unfortunately, I think he'll miss out on a spot again. But he's a candidate, no doubt. McCollum replacing Klay Thompson in that "Sidekick of a superstar" role makes some sense. | |
| 10 | 
Jaylen Brown
Boston Celtics SG
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| If you made me choose between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, I would be up nights. I think Tatum is the likelier All-Star for levels of reasons, but Brown is a really good player on a potentially really good team, and if the opportunities are there, I could definitely see him taking a big step forward and playing like we've seen him play for stretches in the past on a more consistent basis. If he does that, with the way he can defend and the energy he plays with, and if he has a good shooting year, he could certainly in line for All-Star consideration. | |
