A handful of debut NBA All-Star candidates

We've had at least five first-time All-Stars in each of the past four seasons. Who are the candidates this year?

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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The Favorites of the Emperor Honorius, John William Waterhouse, 1883

We had seven first-time NBA All-Stars in 2022: Ja Morant, Darius Garland, Andrew Wiggins, Jarrett Allen, Fred VanVleet, Dejounte Murray and LaMelo Ball. One presumes that Morant will become a staple of the roster when healthy, and Ball is likely to repeat so long as the Hornets are competitive as well.

But given injuries and changing tides, there’s always room for first-timers. To wit, there were five first-timers in 2021, 10 first-timers in 2020 and five in 2019. There’s always room.

So who will get those debut spots in 2023? Let’s look at some top preliminary candidates.

Anthony Edwards, Wolves. This is an easy bet given Ant Man’s burgeoning popularity and flashy box score numbers going into Year 3 for a team that should be solidly in the playoff hunt come voting time in January. Edwards feels like a future All-Star MVP too, so we might as well get this going.

C.J. McCollum, Blazers Pelicans. One of the best current NBA players without an All-Star nod. The Pelicans should be quite good, and while you’d expect Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram (both with prior All-Star nods) to get credited first, it could be McCollum popping up on coach voters’ radars.

Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers. The All-Star sledding is a bit easier in the East and Hali’s performance in his opening months with Indiana was eye-popping (17.5/9.6 with very efficient shooting). Haliburton is likely to be popular with both coaches who vote for reserves (he Plays The Right Way) and with Silver, who probably enjoys rewarding small market teams.

Scottie Barnes, Raptors. Spoiler alert but I’ve going to have both two 2022 Rookie of the Year contenders here. Barnes is basically already widely considered a superstar in the making by some of the most influential NBA analysts in the media. He has a certain well-earned gravity. I think that will accelerate his broader recognition from the punditry.