NBA: Next 10 players that will make an All-Star game
By Eric Saar
A new NBA season arrives in nearly two months and pretty soon a crop of budding stars will make their mark on the league. There are several players who are a lock to eventually make the All-Star game — it’s just a matter of when. They won’t necessarily make it this season, but they’ll be the next group in. It will take some time for a set of older players to retire or slow down to where they lose their All-Star status. This is when these up-and-coming players will get the recognition on the national level they’ve earned.
Goran Dragic
Though Dragic went crazy last year, he got snubbed in February at the All-Star game. Fortunately, he got rewarded at the end of the year, earning All-NBA third-team honors. He received the Most Improved Player award last season and has really made a name for himself.
The Dragon averaged 20.3 points and 5.9 assists per game last season for the Phoenix Suns and had a PER (player efficiency rating) of 21.43, where the average is 15. The Slovenian led the underrated Suns within one game of the playoffs in 2013-14 and led the team the whole year, even carrying the team on his back when Eric Bledsoe was injured for a couple of months.
Marc Gasol
I was surprised too when I learned the younger Gasol had yet to make an All-Star game. With the likes of Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan eventually retiring, the Grizzlies center will start getting nominations. He was injured for 23 games last year, but averaged 14.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game with an above average 18.27 PER. Oh… did I forget to mention he is a defensive juggernaut and the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year?
DeMarcus Cousins
Cousins is a talented big man who is trying to rid himself of the “crazy” or “screw-up” label, but eventually he’ll make his way on to the All-Star roster. Cousins is a double-double machine, who averaged 22.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game last year. He gets 1.3 blocks per game and is better than most believe on defense. “Boogie” has a great PER of 26.18. He’ll make it eventually. Obviously he’s talented because he’s on the USA national basketball team that is going to compete against the world’s best in Spain.
Chandler Parsons
Parsons is having a pretty good offseason. He nearly made the USA national team. He changed teams from the Rockets, where he was (at best) the third option, to the Dallas Mavericks, where he is the second option behind Dirk Nowitzki. To make that change, he signed a three-year, $46 million dollar deal. He got PAID.
Parsons is the perfect fit in Dallas. Their potential starting frontcourt is 6’9” Parsons at SF, 7’0” Dirk Nowitzki at PF, and 7’0” Tyson Chandler at center; that’s a big lineup. Parsons will be able to flourish and improve upon his 16.6 points, 4.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds and a 15.90 PER from last season. He’ll get into the All-Star game, sooner rather than later. This should be a breakout year for him.
Klay Thompson
Thompson is a lethal shooter, a great backcourt partner to Stephen Curry and a better defender than thought, as seen by his play as a member of the USA national team.
Thompson shot nearly 42 percent from deep last season and averaged 18.4 points per game. Thompson will have to improve his PER, which is slightly below average at 14.32. The Warriors really like him since they wouldn’t include him in a potential Kevin Love trade. As some older guards in the league slow down as their careers wane, Thompson will earn his way onto the All-Star team.
Ty Lawson
Lawson is a good and very underrated player. Nobody seems to notice how good a player he is. He is FAST and GOOD. It may take a while for people to recognize Lawson’s talent and get him a spot in the All-Star game.
Lawson averaged 17.6 points and 8.8 assists per game with an above average PER of 19.02. With so many injuries to that team last year, all the defensive attention was focused on him. Now with Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Nate Robinson all healthy, he can play within himself and improve even more. He’ll make the All-Star game sometime in the next several years.
Serge Ibaka
Ibaka is a part of the “Big Three” in Oklahoma City, along with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who continue to make deep playoff runs in the competitive Western Conference. Ibaka continues to improve by leaps and bounds. Since he was drafted in 2009-10, he has improved his points per game average from his rookie year (6.3) to last season (15.1). He now averages 8.8 rebounds per game and an amazing 2.7 blocks per game, which is second in the NBA. His PER of 19.66 is decent and he is a defensive monster. He changes players’ shots and blocks a bunch of them. It’s only a matter of time for Ibaka to vault to All-Star status.
Eric Bledsoe
Bledsoe and his partner-in-crime Goran Dragic were beasts last year. Bledsoe was really good last season when he wasn’t injured. He had a calm presence on the court, but also a killer instinct as he carved up defenses.
Bledsoe averaged 17.7 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game with a PER of 19.62. Regardless of Bledsoe’s contract situation, he’ll have a good year if he can stay healthy and will make an All-Star game in the near future.
Andre Drummond
Drummond is the future. In about six years, maybe even earlier, we will all be saying Andre Drummond is the best center in the NBA. Before that happens, he’ll be in the All-Star game. He’s young, he’s tall, and he’s athletic. He has all the physical tools to dominate in this league and has shown flashes that convince you he’ll be great.
Drummond is a double-double monster, averaging 13.5 points and 13.2 rebounds per game. He averaged 1.6 blocks per game and had a great PER of 22.65. With Drummond, it’s just a matter of time.
Avery Bradley
Bradley is an under-the-radar guard for the Celtics and in the weaker Eastern Conference he will make the All-Star game in a few years. He is that prototypical lockdown perimeter defender, and while his stats aren’t great, I think he has what it takes to get to the next level.
He averaged 14.9 points per game, with a below average PER of 12.80. With the addition of Marcus Smart and James Young, and a healthy Rajon Rondo (unless they trade him) the extra talent could help relieve pressure and vault him into the All-Star game.