Lifetime underdog Khris Middleton fulfills dream by becoming one of the NBA's more unlikely All-Stars in Charlotte

In his seventh season in the league, Middleton is helping power the Milwaukee Bucks to the top of the East

Khris Middleton was beaming. Why shouldn't he have been? He was finally the star of his own show. 

At part of the league's NBA FIT program, he'd just helped unveil new renovated locker rooms for the boys and girls basketball team on Thursday afternoon at West Charlotte High School, and the players reacted with joyful screams when they got to see their new digs. He talked to the scores of high school students about how he incorporates yoga and meditation into his daily routine. The 27-year-old wing for the Milwaukee Bucks was soaking in all the well-deserved attention that comes with being an NBA All-Star for the first time.

It's been a banner year so far for Middleton and his team. The Bucks have the best record in the NBA, and you won't get too many arguments if you believe they're the team best positioned to come out of the Eastern Conference playoffs and go to the NBA Finals. 

Under new head coach Mike Budenholzer, the Bucks have reinvented themselves, shooting more 3-pointers than any team other than the Houston Rockets and posting the NBA's top defensive rating, a vast improvement over last year, when the Bucks ranked 18th on defense. Middleton is averaging 17.1 points per game as a vital part of the Bucks machine, posting career highs in rebounds, assists and 3-point attempts.

He'd been right on the cusp of making the Eastern Conference All-Stars a year ago but didn't. When this year's roster was announced, Middleton was trying hard not to pay attention. He was listening to music in the Bucks' locker room, getting his mind right for an important game against the Toronto Raptors, when he got a call from Bucks general manager Jon Horst, congratulating him for making the team. It didn't really set in until later that night, after the Bucks had disposed of the Raptors: The lifetime underdog had finally made it. The kid who was only considered a three-star recruit coming out of high school, who was ranked as the 102nd recruit in the country according to 247sports.com, who had to wait several agonizing hours on draft night in 2012 until he was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the second round with the 39th pick, who was traded to Milwaukee after his rookie season, would forever have "NBA All-Star" next to his name.

"Even when I was playing college basketball, I didn't realize I could even make it here, to the NBA, until my sophomore year," Middleton told CBSSports.com on Thursday. "That was always the dream, but I was sure to take it step by step. My parents always emphasized taking it one day at a time, to never get ahead of yourself."

Middleton speaks a lot about his parents when he's giving credit for his NBA success. His mother worked as a professor at The Citadel, and his father served in the Air Force before getting a job as a longshoreman clerk, so there was a sense of that strict military upbringing in the Middleton household. On YouTube he studied the great versatile NBA players: Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Tracy McGrady, Paul Pierce. As a freshman at Texas A&M, he wasn't quite strong enough to become an NBA prospect, and his 3-point shot wasn't quite consistent enough, so he worked and worked and worked. His sophomore year he made a big jump, doubling his scoring output to 14.3 points per game and improving his 3-point shooting to 36 percent. He seriously considered leaving for the NBA after that season, but he was only considered a fringe first-rounder -- so he decided to stay for his junior season. He wanted the guaranteed contract of a first-rounder, maybe even become a lottery pick.

But that didn't happen. He tore his meniscus his junior year. Worried about his draft stock, he kept playing on it. He was essentially playing on one leg to show NBA scouts that he was worth the risk. "And not knowing if that was a smart thing to do or if it was the worst decision of my life," Middleton said.

"That was one of the toughest years I've been through, always questioning myself if I should have left after my sophomore year," Middleton said. "But my junior year made me the person I am today -- the world changed around you, and you gotta find a way around it."

Draft night was nerve-wracking. As the picks and the hours passed, he kept playing over in his head his decision to return to school for his junior year: Was it the wrong decision? When he was selected by the Pistons, all sorts of emotions went through his head. He didn't have a guaranteed contract. He didn't know if he'd stick in the NBA. But still: He'd made it, further than he'd ever imagined. That first year in Detroit he got fully healthy and learned the game and the business of NBA basketball. Veterans like Tayshaun Prince and Corey Maggette helped him along. He was traded to the Bucks, which became the break of a lifetime. With the Bucks his role increased, and he became such a valued prospect that, after the 2014-15 season, during which he made less than $1 million, Middleton signed a five-year, $70 million contract.

"It was the first deep breath I'd had in the NBA," Middleton said. "I'd worked so hard. I never knew what the outcome was going to be. I finally got that contract, and it took some pressure off."

Now he's an All-Star playing for one of the most exciting teams in the NBA, not to mention the team with the league's top net rating. This weekend, the forever underdog hopes to just have fun as one of two second-round picks on the All-Star roster. (The other: Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.)

"To me it's a dream come true," he said. "It's been a dream since I was a kid, watching the All-Star Game on TV. Now I finally get my chance."