With a brand new NBA season just around the corner, fans are in anticipation if their favorite big men will finally be named an All-Star. There's a lot of talented big men in the NBA which have made and will continue to make the All-Star team. However, it doesn't mean that there's space for some new blood.
The following players, given their talent and rising popularity, just might make their first All-Star team this 2021-22
4. Deandre Ayton
Let's face it: Deandre Ayton was a bit overshadowed by Luka Doncic as the best player of the 2018 draft class. Ayton was the first pick and he's been doing very well for himself. But the talk of the town has been that young Slovenian guard. However, things took a turn in the 2020-21 NBA season after the Phoenix Suns did not just lock the second seed but also made it all the way to the NBA Finals.
In the Suns' playoff campaign, Ayton played extremely well. He held his own against Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis, outplayed league MVP Nikola Jokic, abused the Los Angeles Clippers, and gained the respect of the Milwaukee Bucks. In this process, Ayton became regarded as a foundational piece of the Suns.
The playoff performance will not just only Ayton the momentum for the upcoming season, but also the admiration of the fans and the media. Now, whenever people talk about the Suns, they won't just mention the Point God Chris Paul or Devin Booker. Ayton will now become synonymous with the team and its success for the years to come. Sure enough, it could start with him being named to the All-Star team in the 2021-22 NBA season.
3. John Collins
John Collins has been balling out since entering the league in 2017. It's only now—after the Atlanta Hawks made an unexpected deep playoff run—that everyone has been yapping about Collins. After all, winning is what matters in this league. Losing only makes people forget you.
While the Hawks have a ton of excellent role players in Bogdan Bogdanovic, Clint Capela, Danilo Gallinari and Lou Williams, just to name a few, no one will smack you in the face if you declare that Collins is the second-best player behind Trae Young.
Don't let the slight dip in Collins' stats last season fool you. It was mainly because of the additions of some potent scorers like Bogdanovic and Gallinari to the fold. But as we all know, numbers don't reveal the entire picture. Collins has co-existed very well with Young. As a mobile big man, he's excellent at pick-and-rolls and can essentially guard multiple positions.
It's important to note that the Hawks got out of the rut after the coaching change. As such, their regular-season record wasn't really a good indicator of how good the team is. This is why everyone was caught off guard with their playoff campaign. With this in mind, we can assume the Hawks to start off hot in 2021-22. Fans will continue to heap praise at Young. Collins, too, will be included in these discussions.
2. Tobias Harris
Tobias Harris has been in the league since 2011, but it's only in the last couple of years that he's gaining recognition as one of the top forwards in this league. We can say that he started turning heads in his last two years with the Detroit Pistons, where he shot just a little over 40 percent from downtown. After which, he had a two-year stint with the Clippers where he further improved his stroke from deep. Now with the Philadelphia 76ers, people regard him as the third star behind Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
The thing about Harris is that he's constantly improving his play. Last season, he actually shot a career-best 51.2 percent from the field. He also averaged 3.5 assists, which is another NBA career-high. In the coming season, we may see more improvements from Harris' play.
Given the controversy surrounding Ben Simmons, Sixers fans might divert their attention to Harris and realize how much value he brings to the team. This strange turn of events could just lead to an All-Star nod for Harris for the first time in his career.
1. Jerami Grant
In his first season with the Detroit Pistons last year, Jerami Grant boosted his average to 22.3 points from 12.0 points the previous season. In effect, he was immediately tagged as one of the building blocks of the Pistons. The team rightfully added 2021 first overall pick Cade Cunningham to the fold. He's a high-IQ player with next-level playmaking abilities. In short, Cunningham is one of those players who makes everyone around him better.
This facet of Cunningham's playstyle is something Grant will greatly benefit from. Though Grant can create his own shots through isolation plays, he's also a very good slasher. He knows when to cut and he seems to be in the right place at the right time always. With this, we may see a slight uptick in Grant's averages. An average of 25.0 points per game is feasible. But more importantly, the Pistons will likely squeeze out more victories than before. Fans and the media will realize that Grant has that NBA All-Star gene in him.