5 NBA players who can be first-time All-Stars in the 2021-22 NBA season

#3 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Oklahoma City Thunder v Miami Heat

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was on pace to make the All-Star team last year prior to being sidelined with plantar fasciitis. He finished in the top-25 of points per game with 23.7 while flirting with an elusive 50/40/90 shooting splits. 50.8 percent from the field, 41.8 percent from three, and 80.8 percent from the line were his final outcomes in 35 games.

If he can sustain anything close to those numbers for 70+ games, it would be hard not to include him on the All-Star roster. Team success is the lone absent factor, and it's an understandable critique. To counter that, I would say Shai has done everything in his power to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to victories, but the surrounding talent is subpar.

I would gladly bet on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander making a handful of All-Star appearances in his career, and next season may be the first of many.

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#2 Ja Morant

Memphis Grizzlies v Utah Jazz - Game Two

Everyone in the NBA witnessed Ja Morant will his Memphis Grizzlies past the Golden State Warriors in the play-in tournament. He subsequently aided in securing game one on the road against the one-seeded Utah Jazz and dropped 47 points in a game two loss.

If the world wasn't aware of Morant beforehand, they sure are now. Team success is a trend in this conversation, and that is no different for Morant. With the subtraction of Jonas Valancuinas, Morant's offensive responsiliblity will substantially increase while simultaneously decreasing the spacing he has to work with.

The stars figure it out, and Morant is a star in the making. After his playoff run everyone is keeping tabs on his performance. Added exposure with nationally televised games should do wonders if he continues to show up when the lights shine brightest.

Morant averaged 19.1 points, 7.4 assists, and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from three in 2020-21. Upping his subpar three-point percentage would unlock his driving game and increase his nightly scoring count.

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#1 De'Aaron Fox

Milwaukee Bucks v Sacramento Kings

Making the All-Star roster in the Western Conference is never going to be an easy feat, but De'Aaron Fox was the most obvious name to put on this list. People don't recognize just how stellar he was last season, probably because he did it in Sacramento, which was statistically the worst defense of all-time last season.

Just listen to this statline. 25.2 points, 7.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals while converting 47.7 percent of his attempts from the field and 32.2 percent from three. 17 players averaged 25 points or more in 2020-21, and 15 of them made the All-Star game. The only two left out? Trae Young and De'Aaron Fox.

Team success, team success, team success. I can't stress it enough when it comes to these All-Star selections. Playing in Sacramento also doesn't help his cause, a team that has zero nationally televised games next season.

If the Kings can gain some leaguewide respect, I would expect Fox to be strongly considered for his first All-Star appearance.