As we pass the quarter mark of the 2025–26 NBA season, plenty of surprising trends have emerged and it’s time to project who will make their first All-Star Game. That could prove a more complicated endeavor this season than in the past.
For the 2026 game in Los Angeles at the Clippers’ Intuit Dome, the NBA is introducing a new format that requires 16 American-born All-Stars and eight international All-Stars. Additionally, there are no longer positional requirements for All-Star voting. Fan voting opens Wednesday and runs through Jan. 14. The 24 players with the most All-Star votes will receive the honor no matter what, but the NBA will name additional All-Stars if necessary to ensure the American vs. International format will work.
Regardless, becoming an NBA All-Star is a lifelong achievement for every player who earns the honor. It’s also a fiercely competitive race. But every year—whether due to injury or an undeniable breakout campaign—there are a few spots claimed by up-and-coming stars who hunger to make their All-Star debut. Last year there were six players who earned their first All-Star nods, led by Victor Wembanyama and Cade Cunningham.
Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton’s injuries have led to a wide-open Eastern Conference. Similar breakouts have occurred in the West, despite the defending champion Thunder sitting at 24–2 and dominating their competition each night. LeBron James missed the first month of the season for the Lakers, which led to plenty of offense to go around even with Luka Dončić’s explosive numbers.
Which players are putting forth the strongest case to become a first-time NBA All-Star this season?
Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers
27.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.7 apg, 50.3 FG%, 36.9 3P%, 87.5 FT%
Reaves was playing out of his freaking mind before a calf strain that will sideline him at least one week. There were pretty high expectations for the guard as he entered his fifth NBA season. He’s blown everybody away thanks to James’s extended absence, which gave Reaves full authority to operate as the Lakers’ No. 2 option—and he took advantage.
Reaves ranks in the top 10 in points per game (27.8) and is on pace to blow away his previous career high (20.2 last season). He scored 51 points in the third game of the season and already has five games with at least 35 points; Reaves recorded four such performances last season. He’s proven capable of not just getting his own buckets but helping take the Lakers offense to great heights. In over 700 minutes with Reaves on the floor this season, Los Angeles has posted a 120.94 offensive rating, which would put the Lakers offense fifth in the NBA. He is not only a walking bucket on his own—Reaves has turned into an offensive machine, a point guard with a complete grasp of how to leverage his scoring threat to open up the floor for his teammates. Hence Reaves’s career-high assist numbers (6.7 per game).
Now, basketball is a two-way game and Reaves is nothing to write home about defensively. At times he’ll get picked on by opposing offenses and doesn’t always offer the level of resistance required to be considered a passable defender. But when he’s producing at this level offensively the Lakers will gladly work around those flaws. It’ll be a tough battle for Reaves to earn votes in a talented West, especially when playing alongside two potential shoo-in candidates. But he is making a very strong case to be considered as the NBA’s most flammable offensive player right now.
Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
24.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 6.8 apg, 50.1 FG%, 44.7 3P%, 89.6 FT%
Murray has an All-Star reputation among NBA fans because he tends to turn on the jets in postseason play and played like a top-10 player in several of the Nuggets’ playoff runs. But that hasn’t really translated over the course of a full season, due to inconsistent play, injury or a combination of the two.
Things are shaping up to be different this season. Murray has played a big role in ensuring Denver hasn’t fallen off despite losing two starters to injury early in the season. The veteran point guard is averaging a career-high 24.9 points per game while embracing the role as the offense’s top option in all non–Nikola Jokić minutes. The efficiency is what’s separating Murray from previous campaigns, though.
He’s hitting 50.1% of his shots from the floor and drilling an absurd 44.7% of his shots from beyond the arc while taking north of seven three-point shots per game. To contextualize that number, there are 36 players in the league averaging at least seven three-point shots per game; only 10 of those players are shooting above 40% and none boasts a higher make percentage than Murray. He’s long been one of the NBA’s most slippery scorers, and when paired with a dangerous deep shot, he becomes an impossible assignment for defenders.
As with Reaves, Murray’s defense toes the line of acceptable on good nights and there is definitely a benefit to playing a large percentage of his minutes next to Jokić, the most talented offensive player in the world. But as long as he continues to scorch the nets and put up big numbers on excellent shooting percentages every night, Murray deserves a look.
Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks
22.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 8.2 apg, 51.6 FG%, 38.5 3P%, 81.3 FT%
Johnson showed flashes of a breakout last season before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. He stumbled a bit to kick off this campaign but once Trae Young exited the lineup with an injury, Johnson was given the keys to the offense. He’s run with it, making possibly the strongest case out of any potential first-time All-Star.
Johnson checks every box as a star in today’s league. He’s a three-level scorer, shooting 38.5% from three while sinking 55.9% of his two-point shots. A gifted passer with the height to see over the defense and basketball IQ to pass players open like a quarterback, Johnson ranks seventh in the league with 8.2 assists per game. And, like any great wing, he hits the boards hard, pulling down 10.5 rebounds per game. His particular combination of talents is perfect for the open space and high pace of the modern game, and it results in winning basketball to boot—Atlanta is 13–9 since Young went down and Johnson took over primary playmaking duties.
The load he’s required to carry offensively can lead to some tough defensive showings from the fifth-year wing. But with six triple-doubles in 24 games so far, that can be excused. The 23-year-old Johnson appears ready to cement himself as one of the most talented offensive players in the East and should be rewarded for that with an All-Star nod.
Deni Avdija, Portland Trail Blazers
25.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 6.3 apg, 46.9 FG%, 37.7 3P%, 81.2 FT%
Sure, the Trail Blazers won’t compete in a stacked Western Conference, but Portland is a fun (and decent) young team behind its newfound star in Avdija. The No. 9 pick in the 2020 NBA draft consistently improved over his first five seasons, but he’s hitting another level in Year 6. A do-it-all wing, Avdija is averaging 25.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game while shooting a career-best 37.7% from three on career-high volume with 6.4 attempts a night.
The most impressive part of his breakout is his ability to get to the free throw line and connect at a high rate. He’s getting to the line 9.6 times per game and hitting 81.2% of his free throws, adding nearly eight points a night from the stripe. NBA fans’ dreaded foul-baiting argument comes into play here, but getting to the line at the rate and efficiency Avdija has this season is certainly a skill.
Portland acquired him before last season in exchange for Malcolm Brogdon, Bub Carrington, a future first-round pick and two second-round picks. That’s looking like a steal for the Blazers, especially when you consider the affordable four-year, $55 million extension Avdija signed with Washington before the trade. The extension is a descending deal too, where he will make just $11.9 million two seasons from now in the final year of the contract. Not bad for a franchise cornerstone.
What may hold Avdija back in All-Star talks is Portland’s record (10–16, 11th in the West), but he’s been that good where he should be in consideration for a reserve spot regardless.
Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons
18.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 1.7 apg, 64.8 FG%, 74.7 FT%
Although Cunningham steers the ship for the East-leading Pistons, Duren is the breakout star of Detroit’s incredible season. The fourth-year big man is averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds per game this season, putting up a career-high 33 points in a win over the Mavericks in Mexico City on Nov. 1. He has two other 30-point games this season and averaged a whopping 21.5 points and 12.6 rebounds in the month of November as the Pistons went on a 13-game winning streak, which tied a franchise record.
Duren has even more room to grow offensively, where he’s already popped this season. In his big November, he put up 11.7 shots per game, which has dipped slightly to 8.4 field goal attempts in his past five games. Opposing defenses are certainly throwing different looks at Duren following his big start. The 22-year-old center is figuring that out and he’s earned the right to get even more shots up as Detroit looks for its second star alongside Cunningham. There’s a debate whether that player is currently on the Pistons’ roster, but right now, it looks a lot like Duren can be Cunningham’s No. 2 for the future.
He’s always been a great rebounder, grabbing 10 or more boards a game in two of his three complete NBA seasons thus far. Duren has needed to develop defensively and he’s taken a leap on that end this season, too. He came up with four blocks in the Pistons’ Nov. 28 loss to the Magic and has five more two-block games. There’s still room to grow as a defender, but he’s looking more like the force Detroit needs him to be alongside elite defensive wing Ausar Thompson. Where Duren really shines is with his offensive power, though. Serving as Cunningham’s pick-and-roll partner, he has 62 dunks this season, behind Giannis Antetokounmpo (73) and Rudy Gobert (70).
Duren has played like an All-Star all season, he just needs to continue the dominance as opponents throw more at him.
Josh Giddey, Chicago Bulls
20.1 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 8.8 apg, 47.8 FG%, 39.8 3P%, 75.2 FT%
Although the Bulls have come down to earth and are stumbling following a hot start, Giddey is averaging a nearly 20-point triple-double and should hear his name in All-Star conversations. He’s putting up 20.1 points along with 9.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game for Chicago. Only Jokić, Cunningham and Dončić are dishing out more dimes this season.
Giddey’s five triple-doubles thus far are the third-best mark in the NBA aside from Jokić, the triple-double machine, and the previously mentioned Johnson. Chicago’s offensive hub is doing it all while shooting a career-high 39.8% from three. The Bulls started their season with five straight wins, but are just 5–15 since and have only one win in their last nine games. Through the losing streak, they lost to the Pacers and Pelicans twice each. That won’t do Giddey any favors come All-Star season, but his breakout is enough to earn his first nod despite Chicago’s recent woes.
He signed a four-year, $100 million extension just before the season, which is paying early dividends for the Bulls a year after they swapped Alex Caruso for Giddey. The toughest question for any franchise is finding its lead star and Chicago may have answered that question with the 23-year-old Aussie. The Bulls have some work ahead to put a winning roster around Giddey, but he’s looking like an All-Star as soon as this February.
More NBA from Sports Illustrated
Listen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Making the Case for Six First-Time NBA All-Stars.