Will Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Get His First All-Star Nod?

In a loaded Western Conference, will Shai Gilgeous-Alexander be able to land his first All-Star selection?

The NBA All-Star Weekend is an interesting part of the season where the league’s top talent get together for a weekend and play in the All-Star game amongst many other challenges and events. To get the nod as an All-Star is a tough feat, and making it for the first time is a huge accomplishment.

For Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he’s not been able to play enough games – or win enough games – to get his first All-Star selection. In his fifth year, he’s gotten the stats needed, he needs the games played and the right competition. In the Western Conference, getting his first nod will be a challenge.

Steph Curry is the first and most notable name challenging Gilgeous-Alexander in his path to making the All-Star Game. Then there’s Devin Booker, who’s a dark horse MVP candidate and best player on the best team. Right in the same mix, there’s Ja Morant, who led his team to an impressive run last season before losing to the eventual champions.

Beyond the picks that seem like locks, health pending, Anthony Edwards is an incredibly safe pick to get his first career All-Star nod. This one is interesting, as Gilgeous-Alexander and Edwards seem to be the two in the race to make their first All-Star games. 

Chris Paul, assuming he takes no step back, will be in the mix as well.

One final question: is Paul George a guard? With Kawhi healthy, he’ll likely play a good portion of his minutes at the shooting guard position, which is just another road block for Gilgeous-Alexander.

It’s safe to say the talent pool runs deep, and availability come All-Star weekend could play an integral role in Gilgeous-Alexander getting his first All-Star Game appearance. Assuming he plays better than last season, he’ll have the stats he needs. If he can play over 80% of the games before the break, it’ll truly depend on the rest of the talent in the Western Conference remaining healthy and playing up to par.

Winning games, too, plays an important role in getting a selection, and in a rebuild for the Thunder, that's just another hurdle. 

In terms of talent that he compares with, Gilgeous-Alexander could easily be in the realm of an end of the bench All-Star. 

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