NBA: 5 candidates to be first-time All-Stars in 2019-20

1. Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors

This seems like a bit of a no-brainer. Pascal Siakam tore it up all last year for the Toronto Raptors on his way to winning the Most Improved Player in the NBA, and not to mention the NBA championship as well.

It was clear that during the season he was the Robin to Kawhi Leonard’s Batman, but that did not stop him from having some superhero performances of his own. On the biggest stage possible, the NBA Finals, Siakam did just that.

Siakam came in to game one against the Golden State Warriors and put up a playoff career high 32 points on ridiculous 14-for-17 shooting along with eight rebounds in a winning effort.

In a game in which Kawhi just simply did not have it, Siakam proved that he could shoulder the load and be relied on in big moments to come through in big ways for his team.

Now that Kawhi is out in LA, this team is Siakam’s to lead. Yes the Raps do still have All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, but it is clear that their best player is Siakam and they will rely on him to do most of the scoring and play-making for the team.

There might be some growing pains early on as he won’t have the benefit of having Leonard still playing alongside him, but based on what we have seen so far out of him, there is no reason to doubt that he can make that next step and be an All-Star in this league.

Coming out of Cameroon and the Basketball Without Borders program, the story of Pascal Siakam is truly an incredible one.

If he continues on the trajectory that he is currently on, then his story will get even better, and this season will be the first of many future All-Star selections for Cameroonian stud.