New York’s Mikal Bridges (left) and OG Anunoby could fill a pair of projected East All-Star openings next season.
Given the way NBA players become All-Stars – that is, the selection process, not simply the level of their performances – we shouldn’t be surprised some worthy players have fallen through the cracks.
Three separate constituencies, using distinct criteria, put together the rosters each season. Starters are selected by the votes of fans, the players and the media. They are generally pretty obvious choices, 10 players from a field of maybe 12 or 13 strong candidates.
The East and West rosters are fleshed out, though, by the conference coaches, who tend to factor in the W-L record of potential All-Stars’ teams. It’s an arbitrary filter, frankly, because great individual players can find themselves stranded on shabby teams. But the coaches’ focus on winning often rewards second fiddles on teams above .500.
Then there are the commissioner’s choices when injuries arise. Sometimes the boss goes with someone who had the next-highest vote total from the staters’ ballot. Sometimes, though, he does not.
For as much as the All-Star Game gets treated as the Fans’ Game, there often are surprise picks and players making their debuts. Last year, there were five first-timers – Victor Wembanyama, Evan Mobley, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Williams and Alperen Sengun. It’s rare when there isn’t at least one or two.
Here is a list of 10 individuals who might dip their toes in this February. We’re running back three from last year’s list, along with seven others who seem capable of taking the big step by midseason.
Please note that we’re going by general All-Star worthiness, without adjusting for the possible USA-International format being talked about for the 2026 game. That could suppress the number of domestic stars and inflate the number of foreign-borns, compared to the tradition of 12 East and 12 West representatives:
1. Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder
Check out the top plays and moments of Chet Holmgren from the 2025 NBA Finals.
No one is anticipating Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to drop off any Western Conference roster, but there’s plenty of precedent for Oklahoma City – as defending champs and continued top contender – to add a third All-Star. He was in the running a year ago but didn’t make it, less due to his performance than to the glut of bigs vying for the same spots. It might take some combination of injuries to thin the frontcourt herd, which includes Wembanyama, Sengun, Nikola Jokić, Anthony Davis and Jaren Jackson Jr.
2 & 3. OG Anunoby or Mikal Bridges, New York Knicks
These were the other two nominees from last year’s list who didn’t make it to All-Star Sunday. There are spots in the East to be had, with Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard, an All-Star with Milwaukee last year, all absent this season. The trick for both two-way Knicks is to shine enough behind Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, then not split consideration with each other.
4. Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic
Teammate Paolo Banchero broke through as an All-Star in 2024, and Wagner could do the same this season. He scores enough – 24.2 ppg last season – but needs to hike his accuracy after hitting 29.5% of his 3-pointers (including 7-of-37 in the first round vs. Boston). The versatile 6-foot-10 wing just turned 24 this week, and both Orlando and he are poised for big improvement.
5. Ivica Zubac, LA Clippers
That logjam of centers and power forwards cited above as a hurdle for Holmgren applies to Zubac as well. The 7-footer from Bosnia and Herzegovina has been a prorated double-double machine for most of his NBA career, but it was in his ninth season that he played enough minutes in enough games to hit those numbers (16.8 ppg, 12.6 rpg) for real. He led the league in both offensive and defensive rebounds, and was an All-Defensive second-teamer.
6. Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
It might surprise some that Murray isn’t anywhere close to the gold standard for 20-point scorers who haven’t sniffed All-Star appreciation. Actually, CJ McCollum has 10 such seasons to Murray’s four, while never earning an invitation. But Murray is a renowned playoff riser, owns a championship ring and has a teammate, Jokić, who has been Denver’s solo All-Star all seven times he’s gone. If the Nuggets’ offseason remodeling pays off, Murray might thrive enough to join the Joker.
7. Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves
McDaniels and Wolves star Anthony Edwards have grown up together, linked since arriving in Minnesota as rookies in 2020. McDaniels doesn’t have Ant’s exuberant personality, but he has been asserting himself more in coach Chris Finch’s offense. And he still is a willing cover for anyone, at any spot, on the court. That’s exactly whom conference coaches like to vote for at All-Star time, if the Wolves’ record gives them the green light.
8. Norman Powell, Miami Heat
Powell is a guy whose star has been on the rise for a while. After two seasons picking up Kia Sixth Man votes, he started every game he played last season and cracked the 20 ppg level. With his offseason trade to Miami, Powell can thrive in some old Dwyane Wade action while flexing his 41.9% 3-point shooting over the past four seasons. At 32, though, Powell is closing in on Nat (Sweetwater) Clifton, who at 34 became the oldest first-time All-Star.
9 & 10. Amen Thompson (Houston Rockets) or Ausar Thompson (Detroit Pistons)
You know about his All-Defensive chops. But the Rockets rising star also rocked the rim last season.
The athletic ability of these twins is off the charts, so if either develops a more reliable offensive package, he could accompany an All-Star teammate – Sengun or Cunningham, respectively – as his team’s second choice. Amen already played on All-Star Sunday via the roundabout mini-tournament last year that included a Rising Stars unit. But we’re talking about the big game – one that twins Dick and Tom Van Arsdale reached together in 1970 and 1971.
Others to watch: Jalen Johnson, Hawks; Myles Turner, Milwaukee; Coby White, Bulls; Derrick White, Celtics.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
