Is Pascal Siakam an NBA All-Star? How he stacks up against other potential East reserves.

Posted by author January 27, 2025 NBA

Spread the love

A year after Tyrese Haliburton became the fourth Pacers player in history to be named an All-Star starter, Indiana didn’t come close to getting anyone in the Eastern Conference’s starting five this season.

Starters are determined by voting: fans (50%), media (25%) and players (25%).

Haliburton finished 10th in the players vote, 13th in fan vote and was not one of the seven guards to receive a vote in the media balloting. Forward Pascal Siakam finished 14th in the players vote, 20th in the fan vote and was not one of the four frontcourt players to receive votes from the media.

Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell and New York’s Jalen Brunson won the two starting guard spots. Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns won the three frontcourt spots.

The coaches get to pick the seven reserves added to the team with three spots guaranteed to frontcourt players, two for the backcourt and two more to wild cards.

Thanks to his early-season struggles, it appears unlikely Haliburton will have a shot despite returning to form over the season’s past 25 games. Atlanta’s Trae Young, Cleveland’s Darius Garland, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard and Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey would all seem to have a statistical edge on Haliburton, who is averaging 18.0 points and 8.7 assists per game this season after finishing last season with 20.1 points and 10.9 assists per game. It’s not possible for more than four of those six to get in, and it’s possible the coaches choose just two.

Siakam, however, seems to have more of a window. The two-time All-Star has been the Pacers‘ most consistent player this season, and beyond the three starters, there are fewer frontcourt players clearly ahead of him than there are guards ahead of Haliburton.

Here’s how Siakam’s case looks against the rest of the field. For our purposes, we’re presuming the coaches will not select players who have missed 15 games or more due to injury, which would eliminate Orlando’s Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner from consideration as well as Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, but there is no rule that says those players are ineligible.

Is Pascal Siakam a 2025 NBA All-Star?

Stats: 20.2 points per game, 7.4 rebounds per game, 3.4 assists per game, 0.9 steals per game, FG%: .526, 3FG%: .413, FT%: .743

Outlook: Since the Pacers acquired Siakam midseason last year, he has failed to score in double figures just once, and even in that game he had nine points. He kept the boat steady when Haliburton struggled and the Pacers were saddled with injuries in the season’s first 25 games, and he’s helped lead them to a dramatic comeback since. Since their 10-15 start, the Pacers have won 15 of their past 20 games including nine of their past 11 to stabilize themselves at fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

Siakam fits what the Pacers were already doing with their up-tempo, ball-movement based offense and gives them a late-clock go-to option for when all else fails. He’s shooting a career-best 41.3% from 3-point range and almost all of his 3-point attempts are of the catch-and-shoot variety. He’s an exceptional floor-runner and transition finisher — making 78% of his field goal attempts within 3 feet of the bucket — so he’s also a go-to option when the Pacers are on the run. However, he’s also deadly in post-up situations with his 6-8, 230-pound frame, 7-3 wingspan and exceptional touch giving him a nearly unstoppable turnaround fadeaway jumper. With a .585 effective field goal percentage, he’s having his most efficient season since 2018-19 when he was named the league’s Most Improved Player for the champion Raptors but was still considered a secondary scoring option behind Kawhi Leonard.

Beyond his scoring, Siakam also leads the Pacers in rebounding, he’s fourth overall and first among non-point guards in assists, and he’s playing much stronger defense than he did last season finally giving the Pacers the size to defend bigger and stronger power forwards. He’s arguably been the Pacers’ most essential player so it’s been helpful he hasn’t missed a game since he’s been acquired.

Is Evan Mobley a 2025 NBA All-Star?

Stats: 18.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.4 blocks per game. FG%: .570 3FG%: .413. FT%: .761

Outlook: Mobley appears to be the closest thing to a lock to earn a reserve spot among the frontcourt players. He’s the only player other than Antetokounmpo, Tatum and Towns to earn a media vote, taking the four Towns didn’t get.

Mobley, the No. 3 pick in the 2021 draft out of USC, was an All-Rookie pick and then an All-Defensive team pick in his second season, but he’s made a significant leap in Year 4 under new Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson. The 6-11, 215-pounder has been just as effective as a rebounder, shot-blocker, overall defender, rim finisher and passer as always, but he’s been encouraged to handle the ball on the perimeter more and shoot more 3s and that’s made him even more dangerous than he already was.

In just 39 games, the 23-year-old already taken a career high 109 3-pointers making 45 — almost double his previous career high of 23. That hasn’t cost him any effectiveness inside the arc as he’s shooting a career-best 61.6% on 2-pointers. He’s scoring at the highest volume of his career at the greatest efficiency of his career, and his leap has helped the Cavaliers make a leap as a team.

After finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference last season and falling to the eventual NBA champion Celtics in the semifinals, the Cavs have the NBA’s best record at 36-9, holding a 4 1/2 game lead on the Celtics in the East. Mobley’s versatility allows the Cavs to easily play two bigs with former All-Star Jarrett Allen at center and even with both big men the Cavs still rank second in the NBA in scoring, first in offensive efficiency and seventh in pace and they’re also a top 10 defensive team.

Is Jaylen Brown a 2025 NBA All-Star?

Stats: 23.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 4.8 apg, 1.3 spg, FG%: .452. 3FG%: .320. FT%: .754.

Outlook: The reigning NBA Finals MVP is struggling to gain last year’s efficiency figures much in the way the rest of the Celtics are as they’ve hit a 11-9 lull after a 21-5 start. Still, he’s the second-most important player on the NBA’s defending champions and the East’s second-best team. Though his effective field goal percentage is a career-low at .504 and his 3-point field goal percentage is the worst of his career, he’s still scoring at high volume and creating for others than a higher level than at any other point in his career as the team’s second option after Tatum with his 4.8 assists per game being a career-high. The Pacers found out up close just dynamic of a scorer he can be as he scored 75 points over two games when the two teams met in back to back games in late December.

Brown is also a havoc-wrecker on defense. His performance on Luka Doncic in the Finals was a big reason why the Celtics won the title and he’s continued to take on assignments even as the Celtics have two of the best on-ball defenders in the world in Derrick White and Jrue Holiday. For all that he can do on both ends of the floor, the number of ways he can impact a game and the fact that he’s proven his game translates to postseason basketball, it’s hard to imagine the coaches leaving him off the team.

Is Jarrett Allen a 2025 NBA All-Star?

Stats: 13.8 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, 0.9 spg, 1.0 bpg, FG%: .705. 3FG%: .000, FT%: .735

Outlook: The Cavs’ dominance is so notable it could lead to Cleveland getting four players on the squad. Allen might be under-appreciated compared to Mitchell, Garland and Mobley, but his ability to fit in seamlessly with Atkinson’s change in approach has been critical to their success.

Unlike Mobley he’s not taking more 3s — he’s attempted exactly one this season — but the Cavs’ spacing is allowing him a lot of opportunities at the rim and he’s taking advantage. Of his 350 field goal attempts, 61.2% have come within 3 feet and he’s made 80.2% of those. He’s also shooting 59.8% from 3-10 feet and 45.8% from 10-16 so he’s been effective from every distance he’s shooting from. He remains a force on the glass — this would be the sixth straight season he’s averaged at least 9.5 rebounds per game if he maintains this pace — and on the defensive end. If the coaches want to reward the Cavs, he has a good chance of riding that wave in.

Is Bam Adebayo a 2025 NBA All-Star?

Stats: 15.6 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.4 spg, 0.8 bpg. FG%: .454. 3FG%: .274. FT%: .725.

Outlook: In the midst of all the chaos Jimmy Butler has brought to the Heat this season, Adebayo has remained a constant for the Heat. If just one Heat player earns a spot, it might be Tyler Herro who gets it just because of his scoring, but Adebayo has a chance to get in because of what he does on the defensive end. He’s arguably the best center in the game at defending pick-and-rolls and battling up ball-handlers in switches. Heat opponents including the Pacers create their offensive game plans based on the idea of avoiding Adebayo and his defensive versatility has earned him gold medals in the past two Olympics.

Adebayo has had more efficient offensive seasons, but he remains an excellent rim finisher and mid-range shooter and he’s a threat from 3-point range even though he’s not that prolific. He’s a little bit of a long shot, but he might earn a third straight All-Star nod based on how much opposing coaches are impressed by his defense.

Is Jalen Johnson a 2025 NBA All-Star?

Stats: 18.9 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.6 spg, 1.0 bpg. FG%: .500, 3FG%: .312, FT%: .746

Outlook: The Hawks moved on from Dejounte Murray but stayed in playoff position in part because of improvement on both ends from several players including Johnson. The 23-year-old 6-9 wing ranks in the top 21 in the NBA in rebounds and steals per game and is also having his most explosive season thus far as a scorer and a creator.

Johnson is one of just five players this season averaging at least 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game, the others being Nikola Jokic, Domantas Sabonis, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Alperen Sengun — all much bigger players who either or centers or can be. The only player in that group who has more than 1.5 steals per game is Jokic, arguably the favorite to win the MVP at the season’s halfway point. Johnson obviously won’t be in that discussion but his numbers could be enough to get him an All-Star nod.