5 first-time NBA All-Stars we can confidently predict after first week of action

There's a very distinct line between good NBA players and All-Star level NBA players. At the onset of this season, multiple players are trying to cross over that line. Here are five players who look like All-Stars a week in.

Ivica Zubac

The Big Zu renaissance is here, folks. He's always been a good NBA center, but he's never been the focal point of LA's offense. With Paul George now a Sixer and Kawhi Leonard sidelined to start the year, the Clippers are asking Zubac to handle a much larger role on offense, and he's responding brilliantly to that request.

Last season, Zubac scored 20 points four times in 68 games. This season, he's done it three times in three games. That's approximately 100% of the games he's played this season, if our math is correct.

Now, making the Western Conference All-Star team as a center will not be an easy task for Zubac. Nikola Jokic is essentially an automatic selection, and Zubac will also be competing with Domantas Sabonis, Victor Wembanyama, Alperen Sengun, Rudy Gobert and Chet Holmgren among others. It's an uphill battle for Zubac, but if he remains this important to LA's offensive plans, he'll have a shot when voting rolls around.

Cade Cunningham

Are you sitting down? We have some disturbing news. The Detroit Pistons are... still... bad. Yes, we know it's tough to hear, but it's true. Detroit's offseason signings haven't contributed to any wins yet as the Pistons are the only 0-4 team in the NBA.

Cade Cunningham is not bad, though. Not bad at all. Very good, in fact! The fourth-year guard is playing quicker than he ever has and his handle looks more stable, too. Cunningham's whole arsenal has been on display through four games, scoring over 20 points and dishing at least 6 assists in each one. This production hasn't led to wins, but if you've watched any Pistons games in the past couple of years, you know that Detroit losing is usually in spite of Cunningham, not because of him.

Detroit being a tough watch won't help his prospects to make the ASG, but he seems pretty respected around NBA circles, so if he keeps his efficiency up, this is an All-Star year for Cade. Also, he should still get to the free-throw line more. But this is good progress.

Jalen Green

In our 25-under-25 piece on Jalen Green, we discussed how easily Green can put you under his spell of smooth scoring and unrivaled explosiveness. Well, he's doing it again. But it feels real this time! Green is averaging 28.8 points through four games for Houston, hitting 41.3 percent of his 3-point attempts (19/46).

That's the key right there. Just make more threes and Green is suddenly in the All-Star conversation. If he can be a 41 percent 3-point shooter for the whole season, that's obviously wonderful. But even settling around 38 or 39 percent would do wonders for who Green is as a scorer.

Houston clearly believes in Green as a high-level bucket getter, as he's shot over 20 shots in every game this season. The efficiency is never going to be elite for Green, but it doesn't really matter. He scores in bunches and can take over games. It's a lot of fun when he does, too.

The confidence from last season, which Green ended with a bang, has clearly carried over into 2024-25. If he keeps rolling, and Houston wins a lot of games like they're expected to, Green will be a popular pick for his first All-Star appearance in February.

Evan Mobley

The time has come. Evan Mobley is making things happen off the dribble and hitting 3-pointers. Sound the alarm.

Mobley has always had All-Star level talent, his development just hasn't come overnight like many folks (unfairly) expected it to. But in year four, everything is coming together for the Cavs big man, and if he keeps playing with this confidence — and the Cavs keep winning — he might be a lock for his first (of probably many) All-Star appearance.

He doesn't need to shoot 50 percent on 3s all season long, but if he's reliable from deep and his improved creation ability continues throughout the year, then he'll more than likely be Cleveland's second All-Star, assuming Donovan Mitchell also makes the cut yet again.

Cam Thomas

Okay, are we actually "confident" in predicting that Cam Thomas will be an All-Star? Nope. Not at all. He plays for a bad Nets team and will have many nights where his shot isn't falling and ends with an ugly statline. But there will also be nights where he lights Barclays Center on fire and scores 45 of the toughest points you've ever seen. Because of his scoring upside every night, it's hard to leave him out of this list. He's scored 36 points, 24 points and 32 points in Brooklyn's three games and is going to smash his career-high point output of 22.5 which he set last season.

Garnering votes might be tough as a lot of fans (and probably NBA personnel, too) don't think Thomas is as valuable as the raw scoring numbers suggest. But if he's averaging 30 points per game in January, he's got to get some love in All-Star voting... right?