NBA: 5 West players who could become first time All-Stars this season

Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets
Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets

4. Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.
Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks

Since 2000, there have only been two rookies who were named All-Stars. They were Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets in 2003 and Blake Griffin in 2011 while he was part of the Los Angeles Clippers. Dallas Mavericks super rookie Luka Doncic could follow their path this season.

Doncic is living up to the hype as he is the front-runner for the Rookie of the Year Award. He is averaging 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. More importantly, he is leading the Dallas Mavericks to a winning record of 11-10 throughout the first quarter of the season.

If the Mavericks can keep it up, Doncic has a realistic shot of making the All-Star game roster especially with struggling teams like the Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves, and San Antonio Spurs. Doncic has adapted to the NBA smoothly but he has to withstand the dreaded rookie wall to even have a good chance of being an All-Star this season.

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