Evan Mobley is among the Eastern Conference players who could make their first All-Star team this season.
The first round of NBA All-Star fan votes were announced Friday, and it came as no surprise to see Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo lead their respective conferences while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and LaMelo Ball headlined the top vote-getters amongst guards.
Most of the leaders of each conference and category have been selected to an All-Star team multiple times. However, part of the beauty and allure of NBA All-Star Weekend is seeing first-time All-Stars have their moment to shine, from young rising stars like last year’s Tyrese Maxey and Paolo Banchero to veterans who broke through with a new team (think of Isaiah Thomas with the Celtics in 2015-16).
The fans and media will mostly decide the NBA All-Star Game starters, but it’s the 30 head coaches who will select the reserves, and that’s when you typically see first-time All-Stars get the recognition they deserve. Here are four potential first-time All-Stars from the Eastern Conference:
Evan Mobley – Cleveland Cavaliers (18.9 pts, 8.8 reb, 2.9 ast, 1.5 blk, 1.0 stl, 30.2 MPG)
The Cavaliers (30-4) have the best record in the Association and are 4.5 games ahead of the Celtics (26-9) in the Eastern Conference. Donovan Mitchell is averaging 23.4 points per game, shooting a career-best 41.2 percent from three and should make the All-Star team for a sixth straight season. Teams at the top of the conference — particularly those with as dominant of a record as the Cavs — typically send at least two players to the All-Star game, and Mobley has a strong case to join Mitchell in San Francisco.
Mobley is coming off a dominant 34-point, 10-rebound double-double in a 134-122 win over the Mavericks, and over his last eight games, he’s averaged 20.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 blocks in 29 minutes per game. His plus-9.9 point differential trails only Gilgeous-Alexander (plus-12.2) among NBA starters, and Mobley’s 22.92 PER is tied with Franz Wagner for 11th-best in the Association. Mobley finished 10th in the first round of All-Star voting amongst Eastern Conference frontcourt players (145,623), but he should get plenty of consideration from head coaches around the league.
Jalen Johnson – Atlanta Hawks (19.8 pts, 10.1 reb, 5.3 ast, 1.5 stl, 1.1 blk, 36.3 MPG)
The Hawks (18-17) shook up their roster over the offseason by trading Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans in exchange for a package centered around Dyson Daniels and two future first-round picks. Murray averaged 21.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in his two seasons with Atlanta, and the Hawks faced a tall task in replicating that production on offense to support perennial All-Star point guard Trae Young.
The Hawks used the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft to select Zaccharie Risacher and have gotten marvelous production out of De’Andre Hunter off the bench, but Johnson has provided the most impact through the first half of the regular season for Atlanta. Johnson is averaging career highs across the board and leads the Hawks in both net rating (plus-2.6) and Player Impact Estimate (13.6). Atlanta sits on the cusp of the top-six in the Eastern Conference standings, and it can be argued that their playoff hopes would be slim to none without Johnson’s leap in his fourth NBA season.
Tyler Herro – Miami Heat (24.1 pts, 5.5 reb, 5.1 ast, 41.0% from three, 35.3 MPG)
This season Tyler Herro has found a way to elevate his game and keep the Heat in strong playoff contention.
He is scoring a career-best 24.1 points per game and is enjoying career bests in three-point shooting (41.0 percent), true shooting (62.6 percent) and effective field-goal percentage (59.1). The 2021-22 Sixth Man of the Year is well on his way to adding an All-Star selection to his accomplishments.
Derrick White – Boston Celtics (17.3 pts, 4.5 reb, 4.4 ast, 1.2 blk, 0.9 stl, 34.3 MPG)
The Celtics are still the odds-on favorites to represent the East in the NBA Finals and the superstar duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will surely earn spots in this year’s All-Star Game. The question is whether a third Celtic will join them. White seems like the strongest candidate to be that third representative, though you could make a case for Sixth Man of the Year frontrunner Payton Pritchard.
White’s influence on both ends of the floor sparked All-Star buzz midway through the 2023-24 regular season. While he wasn’t selected last year, he’s making a strong case to be sent to San Francisco this season, as he’s averaging a career-high in points while shooting 39.9 percent from three on 9.1 3PA/G. White’s impact on the floor is undeniable and can’t be measured in stats alone. Since being acquired by the Celtics from the Spurs during the 2021-22 season, White has a 161-54 record with Boston.
Honorable mentions: Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons), Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic), Jordan Poole (Washington Wizards), Cameron Johnson (Brooklyn Nets)
