Last season, lots of young NBA players like Anthony Edwards, Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, De’Aaron Fox, and Tyrese Haliburton had the chance to become All-Stars for the first time in their careers. This year, let’s take a look and predict the 6 players who could potentially be first-time All-Stars in the 2023-2024 season.
6. Jamal Murray
After an exceptional NBA Finals performance, Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is definitely the team’s second-best player behind Nikola Jokic.
Despite missing 18 months due to a torn ACL, the Canadian star was able to recover and helped bring Denver its first-ever title. Murray is only 26 years old and is about to enter his prime. But, right now, he’s already giving his opponents a tough time with his scoring prowess. Next season, with the way he played in the playoffs, Jamal Murray is slated to become an All-Star.
2022-2023 stats:
| POINTS | ASSISTS | REBOUNDS | STEALS | BLOCKS | FG% | 3P FG% |
| 20.0 | 6.2 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 45.4 | 39.8 |
5. Jalen Brunson
Being picked as a member of Team USA is no easy feat. Only a handful of names ever got the chance to represent the United States, and Knicks star Jalen Brunson is one of them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brq-QC3mqh0
Before the 2022-2023 season began, people laughed at the Knicks for signing Brunson in a $100 Million deal. However, the 2018 33rd overall pick proved everyone wrong. He was already a good backup to Luka Doncic in Dallas, but Brunson bloomed even more after signing with the New York Knicks. He became a fan favorite and pushed the Knicks to the playoffs. In a team that has RJ Barrett and Julius Randle, Brunson surprisingly became the best player in New York. With a 24 and 6 average, Jalen Brunson is already putting up All-Star numbers.
2022-2023 stats:
| POINTS | ASSISTS | REBOUNDS | STEALS | BLOCKS | FG% | 3P FG% |
| 24.0 | 6.2 | 3.5 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 49.1 | 41.6 |
4. Desmond Bane
Don’t get fooled with his short hands or he will destroy you. Memphis Grizzlies‘ sharpshooter, Desmond Band, rightfully belongs to the All-Star game next season.
Not only is he the second scoring option behind Ja Morant, but Bane is also an elite defender. Moreover, the 25-year-old guard is very efficient from behind the arc with a 40.8% shooting percentage. The Grizzlies just became a better defending team now with Desmond Bane and the 2022 DPOY Marcus Smart manning the perimeter.
2022-2023 stats:
| POINTS | ASSISTS | REBOUNDS | STEALS | BLOCKS | FG% | 3P FG% |
| 21.5 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 47.9 | 40.8 |
3. Evan Mobley
Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley was a runner-up for the 2022 Rookie of the Year. Unfortunately, he would lose the battle against the eventual winner, Scottie Barnes.
This year, we saw Mobley’s impact as a tough-as-nails rim protector as he gets a nod to the All-Defensive 1st team. Not only that, he was a runner-up for the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year and sometimes looked like he was about to win the award.
2022-2023 stats:
| POINTS | ASSISTS | REBOUNDS | STEALS | BLOCKS | FG% | 3P FG% |
| 16.2 | 9.0 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 55.4 | 21.6 |
2. Mikal Bridges
Before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Kevin Durant, Mikal Bridges was a mere 3-and-D guy for Phoenix. Although he had huge potential, he was only allowed to blossom in New York. Bridges only averaged 17.2 points in the first half of the 2022-2023 season.
However, since becoming a Net, Mikal Bridges bumped his numbers to 26.1 ppg and even scored a career-high 45 points not long after. The 27-year-old forward joined Jalen Brunson as they represented the United States in the FIBA World Cup this year.
2022-2023 stats:
| POINTS | ASSISTS | REBOUNDS | STEALS | BLOCKS | FG% | 3P FG% |
| 20.1 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 46.8 | 38.2 |
1. Paolo Banchero
The 2023 Rookie of the Year, Paolo Banchero, had a great rookie year. In fact, he is only one of the nine NBA rookies who averaged at least 19.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 3.5 APG in their first season. This elite club of basketball players includes Luka Doncic, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, Sidney Wicks, Elgin Baylor, and Blake Griffin. If Banchero follows the path of the players before him, he’d be selected as an All-Star in his second or third year.
In this year’s World Cup, there was a bit of tension between Italy and Paolo Banchero after the latter chose to represent the Americans instead of the Italians. Aside from that, the former Duke standout is expected to become a huge star in the NBA.
2022-2023 stats:
| POINTS | ASSISTS | REBOUNDS | STEALS | BLOCKS | FG% | 3P FG% |
| 20.0 | 3.7 | 6.9 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 42.7 | 29.8 |
Honorable mentions: Josh Giddey, Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma, Jalen Green
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