The NBA All-Star game is their premier mid-season event where the league takes stock of its brightest stars. The weekend is filled with fun events, like the Slam Dunk Contest and the Rising Stars Challenge.
However, the game takes centre stage and after recently going through a revamp of the rules, it appears as competitive as ever.
Making the All-Star game is truly an honour, with the league more talented than it’s probably ever been. Not everybody can get on the squad and players are left bitterly disappointed every year.
With that said, here are three players that could be in line to make their first one:
Jamal Murray
Canadian-born guard Jamal Murray is something special. He was developing as a special talent a couple of years ago and seemed to take his game to new heights in the 2020 playoffs.
His return has put the Nuggets back in contention to win the NBA Championship. Despite being the dark horse to win it all at odds of 17/1, fans can back the team and make use of Betfair’s bet 10 get 30 offer.
A devastating injury ruled him out for nearly two years and he’s only properly returning to the court this season. His ascension a few years ago saw him become one of the most talented scorers in the league, able to torch defenders with devastating handles and finish with a soft touch.
He also has range and clever passing ability, making him one of the most entertaining players to watch. His two-man game with Nikola Jokić is spectacular and with both being such special passers, the ball always finds the open man.
He has started the season slowly, but as he begins to get his legs back, expect him to explode and make his first All-Star game.
CJ McCollum
The case of CJ McCollum not making an All-Star already is a curious one. It’s confusing not to have seen him earn the honour yet, having been a talented scorer in the league for over a decade.
He was always on competitive teams in Portland with Damien Lillard and has averaged more than 20 ppg since his third year in the league. He had a couple of injury-plagued years but has been relatively healthy for most of his career.
The depth of guard has cursed McCollum in the competitive West for the last ten years. Having to go against the likes of Steph Curry,
Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Klay Thompson, Chris Paul, Donovan Mitchell and, more recently, Luka Dončić, has gotten in the way of earning one of those spots.
However, after joining a young but talented Pelicans team, this could be McCollum’s year. If the Pelicans are number one in the West come all-star voting time, McCollum’s personal and group production could finally earn him that elusive call-up.
Malcolm Brogdon
The man nicknamed The President has always been a productive player. His game has little flash about it, but he has always given solid, if not great, production.
He plays the right way and you could trust him to make the right decision on the court. Brogdon managed to average 20 ppg one season in Indiana, and it appears that the only thing holding him back was injuries. After many seasons on the injury list, he is finally healthy and with a team competing at the very top.
Brogdon is currently coming off the bench, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him force his way into the starting line-up. If he manages to do that, improve his production and the Celtics are top of the eastern conference, we could see Brogdon make his firsts All-Star game.
The NBA season is still very young and teams are still trying to figure out how to play together. We will soon see some players and teams take off, and it’ll be interesting to see who the stars of the season will be.