Which Players Should Be First-Time NBA All-Stars This Year?

Every year, a handful of players take a leap and punch their inaugural tickets to the NBA All-Star Game. Whether that leap stems from a hot start, significant individual development or fresh opportunity, the league’s midseason classic always features new faces.

So, as the 2025-26 season approaches its one-month mark, who appears ready to be among those new faces this year? The Sportscasting crew teamed up to identify three players performing like an All-Star nod is in their future this winter. Let’s get to it.

Josh Giddey

After taking some positive strides last year, Josh Giddey is further validating the Chicago Bulls’ decision to trade Alex Caruso for him two summers ago. On the season, Giddey is logging career-highs in points (21.9), rebounds (9.9) and assists (9.7) per game, just shy of averaging a 20-point triple-double. 

Before Nikola Jokic did it last season, the last time we witnessed a 20/10/10 stat line for an entire year (minimum 50 games played, per Stathead) was 2020-21, when Russell Westbrook – Sir Triple Double – did it for the fourth-time in his career. Outside of Jokic and Westbrook, the only other player to accomplish this feat was Oscar Robertson, who did so in the Stone Age (1961-62). 

Along with being future Hall of Famers, all of those guys made the All-Star team in the season they went 20/10/10, except Westbrook in 2020-21 (but remember, he started out that year incredibly slowly). Giddey has a ways to go to walk the same path as these all-time greats but if he does, history is surely in his favor for an All-Star bid. 

Outside of counting stats, Giddey has two other variables in his favor here. First, the Bulls are actually pretty competitive. Yes, they have lost their last five but they are still 6-6, with Giddey missing two games and Coby White, their second-best player, in street clothes for all but one of those affairs. 

And second, Giddey plays in the Eastern Conference. Even during a normal season, this gives All-Star hopefuls a huge advantage because great players tend to enjoy living out West. But it is especially helpful this year as Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton won’t be taking up two of the spots (Darius Garland and Trae Young have also missed significant amounts of time). 

All this is a long way of saying the stars seem to be aligning for Giddey to earn his first All-Star nomination. -Mat Issa

Jamal Murray

For years, list makers wrote Jamal Murray’s name in Sharpie among the greatest NBA players to never make an All-Star team. They’ll need to find a new headliner now. Murray, usually a playoff riser, is having his best start to the regular season in years. He’s averaging a career-high 22 points per game on solid efficiency (minus-0.8 percent true shooting).

Beyond his scorching shotmaking, converting a career-best 47.1 percent of his midrange shots, he’s authoring the best passing season of his career. He’s on the ball more than ever (37.1 percent), blending his scoring and passing at veteran levels. Pristine passing off of his scoring gravity is fueling his most productive shot creation season ever, posting a career-high 17.3 potential assists per game.

Players who produce points like Murray usually make All-Star teams. Nikola Jokic’s historic dominance is fueling the Denver Nuggets’ roaring start but Murray deserves quite a bit of credit for his team’s top-ranked offense. He and Jokic are bashing teams, placing as much pressure as ever on defenders when Murray has the rock. 

While he might need a bit more scoring volume to lock himself into the All-Star pool, a healthy, in-form Murray is one of the league’s most dangerous offensive weapons, deserving of serious consideration — even in a loaded Western Conference. -Ben Pfeifer

Austin Reaves

It will be tough to make the All-Star game in the Western Conference. Most spots are already spoken for. 

But Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves will force voters to reconsider. Reaves has started this season averaging 28.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. Astonishingly, this isn’t because of some streaky, hot shooting. Reaves is knocking down just 33 percent of his threes.

The career-high scoring is in part due to his relentless driving of the basketball. Reaves is taking a career-best 9.6 two-point attempts nightly, hitting on 61.3 percent of them — including an elite 66 percent on his floaters, which ranks in the 100th percentile at his position (per Cleaning the Glass). That same downhill propensity has helped him get to the free-throw line more often, where he’s knocking down 86.7 percent of his career-high 9.5 freebies per game. 

Reaves has turned himself into an elite scorer in the league. His playmaking, particularly in pick-and-rolls, has really blossomed as well. The Lakers, for their part, are enjoying a 10-4 start because of it. To add to his case, Los Angeles is 15.2 points better per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor, the second-best mark on the team. 

With career-best numbers that impact winning, Reaves’ All-Star case has it all. -Es Baraheni