10 NBA Players Who Will Push for Their First All-Star Game In 2025

The NBA talent churn creates a new class of rising stars every year, some of whom get their ascents validated by an official first-time All-Star nod.

The tricky part is sifting through so many exciting and worthy candidates to pick out the ones with the best chance to hit that new level. It's a testament to the league's depth of talent that a list of 10 candidates actually feels a little short.

Ahead of the 2024-25 season, let's highlight a handful of potential first-timers with the right games and surrounding circumstances to earn a trip to San Francisco for the 2025 All-Star Game.

We're going to look back and wonder how Victor Wembanyama didn't make the All-Star team as a rookie. His full-season averages of 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.6 blocks got boosts from a second-half surge, but it's not like he was putting up goose eggs prior to February.

In fact, Wemby is just the second player to finish a season with four-category averages at least that high while not earning an All-Star nod. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the first, way back in 1977-78. His All-Star absence was due to missing 20 games after breaking his hand while punching No. 1 pick Kent Benson two minutes into the season.

If you think Wemby has topped out statistically, well...let's just say you're in the minority. But even if he has, a straight repeat of the numbers he produced last year will undoubtedly get him his first nod. There's no punch-free precedent for stats like those not resulting in entry to the All-Star Game.

There's no question Wembanyama is going to get his first honor this season, so here are some others to consider, along with our best-guess answers:

• Which All-NBA team will he be on? (Second)
• Can he block 5.0 shots per game? (Yes; 5.3)
• Will his first quadruple-double come before or after Nov. 1? (Before...and then three more afterward)

Maybe it's actually a good thing that most people's lingering memory of Jalen Williams' sophomore season isn't a positive one.

His Oklahoma City Thunder had a hard time finding a secondary offensive engine when the Dallas Mavericks swarmed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the Western Conference semifinals, a role J-Dub was largely expected to fill.

Despite averaging 17.0 points, 6.5 assists rebounds and 5.7 assists against Dallas, the 23-year-old's postseason was viewed unfavorably. That's fine; it'll give him a chance to easily exceed artificially deflated expectations.

Because the truth is Williams already has exceptional shot-creation skills for his position. There aren't many wing/forward types who put up 4.5 assists per game in their second seasons, and there are even fewer who do that while posting a cartoonish 54.0/42.7/81.4 shooting split.

Sure, Williams had a harder time getting to his spots in his first playoff atmosphere. But struggle should be the expectation for someone his age making a high-stakes playoff debut. The larger sample of Williams' career suggests he's a do-it-all superstar in waiting.

And the wait is going to be over this season.

Expect Williams to put up at least 20.0 points, 5.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds while playing stellar defense for an OKC team that'll spend the season vying for the shortest championship odds. That'll be more than enough to give J-Dub a real shot at cracking a tough West All-Star roster.

Assuming Shai Gilgeous-Alexander doesn't mysteriously forget how to dominate after finishing second in MVP voting last year, Chet Holmgren's inclusion on this list means we're predicting three OKC Thunder players will be in the mix for All-Star consideration.

If that seems like too many, keep in mind that we've actually seen four teammates make the game several times in the last decade. If the Thunder are who we think they are, a trio should be no problem.

As a rookie, Holmgren was one of three players to block 120 shots and make 120 threes. His third-option status on a stacked OKC team limited his usage, but his two-way impact was still profound. If not for Wembanyama, the versatile 21-year-old would have run away with Rookie of the Year honors after finishing with 16.5 points 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 blocks per game.

Holmgren should see more than last year's 29.4 minutes per contest in 2024-25, and his in-season growth portends a statistical spike. We're talking about a 7-footer who can stretch the defense and protect the rim, which is uncommon enough. But Holmgren also showed the rare ability to hone other skills over the course of the year. For example, he went from coughing the ball up on drives all the time to excelling as a driver in traffic.

Oklahoma City has a next-generation unicorn in Holmgren, one who could kick off a string of roughly 10 straight All-Star appearances this season.

Alperen Şengün makes it four straight newbies from the West, at least three of which will definitely be categorized as frontcourt players. Considering many incumbents aren't going anywhere, we've already hit a numbers crunch.

That's fine. This is about young stars who'll push for their first All-Star inclusion, and Şengün deserves a spot here because he certainly proved he could do that a year ago. A few more player and media votes this time around, and maybe he'll break through.

Şengün projects to be the fulcrum of the Houston Rockets offense again this season. Surrounded by young talent with great odds of improving, the skillful-yet-physical big man might lose a point or two off the 21.1 he averaged last year. But that could be offset by an even bigger spike in assists.

Already one of the best facilitating bigs in the league, Şengün could join Nikola Jokić and Domantas Sabonis as the only centers to post multiple seasons with at least 5.0 assists this century.

After dipping a toe into the three-point waters last year and finding them a little chilly (29.7 percent on 1.8 attempts per game), Şengün could really up his shot at an All-Star berth if he takes a full plunge from deep.

If you've heard anyone wax optimistic about Cade Cunningham's 2024-25 prospects, you may already know the stat: Last year, the Detroit Pistons' wing shot 18-of-42 on step-back threes, good for a 42.9 percent conversion rate.

That's a small sample, but those who believe Cunningham still has a leap or two ahead of him fixate on it because of what it could mean.

If Cunningham becomes a threatening off-the-dribble shooter from long range, it adds a dimension to his game that unlocks everything else. That shot is a staple of the elite perimeter offensive engines around the league—think of Luka Dončić, Damian Lillard, Stephen Curry and James Harden (a few years ago). All of them have to be guarded differently because of their ability to generate a hugely valuable scoring chance all by themselves 25 feet from the basket.

Cunningham put up 22.7 points, 7.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds on a career-best 54.6 true shooting percentage last season. If he can knock down a few more self-created deep shots, it'll open up his driving game, clear passing lanes and produce the breakthrough campaign we've been wanting since Cunningham came off the board at No. 1 in 2021.

A risky pick after his brutal showing at the 2028 Olympics, Jamal Murray should at least be motivated to quiet the chatter that arose in the wake of his 9-of-31 three-point-shooting performance for Team Canada.

Anyone who subscribed to the idea that Murray needed Nikola Jokić to thrive got confirmation in Paris, and it was admittedly tough to watch Murray struggle so mightily as Canada failed to medal. That effort combined with some similarly shaky playoff work (20.6 points on a 47.4 true shooting percentage) to dent the 27-year-old's reputation.

If the injury issues that seemed to sap Murray's mobility during the postseason and over the summer persist, he's got no chance to make his first All-Star Game. But we can't just discount the fact that 2023-24 was the best regular season of Murray's career.

He set or tied personal bests with 21.2 points and 6.5 assists per game while also canning threes at a 42.5 percent clip. Sure, Jokić had plenty to do with that; his greatness has always lifted every teammate to new levels. But Murray, two years removed from his ACL tear, was undeniably productive. If we chalk up his rough late-season work to fatigue, maybe there's hope.

Besides, Murray only needs to be his best through February to earn an All-Star nod.

Evan Mobley enters his age-23 season with a lot going for him.

For starters, the Cleveland Cavaliers are more stable than ever. They're led by a new head coach in Kenny Atkinson, they're free from the drama of Donovan Mitchell's uncertain contract situation and they boast a core of four players (Mobley, Mitchell, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen) who are all locked into deals that run through at least 2027.

Individually, Mobley is also positioned to succeed. Last year showed steady gains as a facilitator (career-best 3.2 assists per game), three-point shooter (37.3 percent) and attacker (career-high 46.4 percent of his attempts came inside three feet). Though he didn't repeat as an All-Defensive first-teamer due to missing the games-played threshold, Mobley was still elite on that end, finishing in the 94th percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus/Minus.

With Mitchell and Garland on the ball, Mobley will struggle to get enough touches to average over 20.0 points per game. But he should be a double-digit rebounder and could climb up toward the 5.0-assists-per game range while collecting a couple of blocks and a steal every night. Those averages might be enough to get him All-Star consideration if he also captains a top-three defense—which he did in 2022-23.

Desmond Bane made the best of the Memphis Grizzlies' gap year, expanding his offensive game to include more self-created scoring chances and spending far more time on the ball than he would have if several of his best teammates, chiefly Ja Morant, had been available.

The biggest sign of growth might not seem obvious. Bane shot a career-worst 38.1 percent from long range after hitting at least 40.8 percent in each of his three previous seasons. But the way he generated those shots changed dramatically. As a rookie, Bane was assisted on 93.2 percent of his made threes. That number has steadily declined every year, and it fell to 61.3 percent last season.

Even more remarkably, only 48.3 percent of Bane's field goals came via assists. That number was 59.8 percent in 2022-23 and 82.1 percent when he was a rookie in 2020-21.

Had he not missed the final month prior to the All-Star Game, Bane might have made it last season. Before going down with a left ankle sprain on Jan 12, he was averaging 24.4 points, 5.3 assists and 4.6 rebounds.

Armed with a newly developed and more complete offensive game, surrounded by teammates who can also set him up and hitting his prime at 26, Bane has a great shot to get his first nod.

Last year's 28.1 percent hit rate from beyond the arc might be cause for concern, but it's pretty clear the Orlando Magic are viewing Franz Wagner's accuracy dip as an anomaly.

They gave him a five-year, $224 million extension in July.

It's almost impossible for a perimeter player who can't shoot threes to be worth that much, but the broader data set suggests Wagner will be better from deep than he was in 2023-24. He shot 35.4 percent on treys as a rookie and 36.1 percent the following season. That track record, along with the gains Wagner made at closer range (career-high 57.0 percent on twos) and at the foul line (career-high 4.4 attempts per game), indicate a big year could be ahead.

It'll also help that most defenses will key on teammate Paolo Banchero, who earned his first All-Star appearance last season. If newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pope draws further attention away from Wagner, the fourth-year forward could find himself enjoying more open looks and clearer driving lanes than ever.

Wagner's floor feels like something in the range of a 20/5/5 season with above-average scoring efficiency. If he goes a bit beyond that level, an All-Star trip could be in the cards.

The high points and highlights Jonathan Kuminga produces make it seem like he's capable of anything. Impossibly explosive attacks from a standstill, top-of-the-square blocks, punishing physicality around the rim—all of the visuals smack of stardom.

If you pick the right ones, so do the numbers.

In 2023-24, a 21-year-old Kuminga played 74 games and averaged 21.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per 36 minutes while shooting 52.9 percent from the field. No 21-year-old in NBA history has ever beaten those per-36 averages across a sample of at least 74 games.

Kuminga has to better his career 34.1 percent three-point stroke if he wants opponents to take him seriously as a shooter, and he needs to lock in more consistently on D. The Golden State Warriors have basically been begging him for more rebounding since he entered the league—a reasonable ask given his ridiculous athleticism.

Limitless physical tools, an apparently burning desire to get better and some very encouraging early career production give Kuminga a superstar ceiling. Maybe he won't hit it this season, when he'll only be 22. But this is a bet that he gets close enough to warrant serious All-Star consideration for the first time.

Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Salary info via Spotrac.

Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@gt_hughes), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.