8. Rudy Gobert, C, Utah Jazz
If most players on this list fall into the “young up-and-comers” category, then Rudy Gobert belongs in the category of players who have deserved to be All Stars, but due to bad timing never made it before. For Gobert that was due to missing games during the first half of the 2017-18 season and a slow start for the Utah Jazz in 2018-19.
This season it is likely the Jazz will have a strong start, with one of the best starting lineups in the league and solid bench pieces. Gobert, the two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year, is coming off a dominant performance in the FIBA World Cup for France. He looks to have added some offensive polish to a defensive game that is one of the best in the league.
What keeps Gobert from rising to the top of the list is two-fold. First, he faces stiff competition at the center position, with Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns and LaMarcus Aldridge all in the Western Conference, along with Anthony Davis and Kristaps Porzingis crowding in as center-sized power forwards.
Second is the reality that if Utah has a strong start the credit will likely go to one of his talented backcourt teammates, either the up-and-coming Donovan Mitchell or the newly acquired Mike Conley. To make the All-Star team Gobert will need to prove himself more impactful than each of them while relying on them to raise Utah to the necessary level for him to get selected.
It is very possible, as Gobert is an incredible player. It’s just not as likely as some other outcomes.