5 unlikely candidates to make the 2020 NBA All-Star Game

3. Domantas Sabonis

After remaining amid the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff picture in his absence last season, the Indiana Pacers were expected to remain competitive once again until Victor Oladipo returned from a ruptured quad.

The unavailability of an All-Star player required extra contributions from those healthy to help compensate and keep the Pacers afloat. It would be a team effort, but some were more primed for the task than others.

One such player was Domantas Sabonis, the fourth-year big man who had carved out a role that netted a four-year, $77 million extension before the season.

That role, however, was as Indiana’s sixth man averaging under 25 minutes a night. A spot in the starting lineup seemed inevitable, especially after the moves made by the front office last offseason. Whether Sabonis would use it as a springboard for something greater was up to him.

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In almost 10 extra nightly minutes of action, Sabonis has made the transition without a hitch. His 17.5 points, 13.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game are all career highs and he’s shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 73.0 from the stripe.

Better yet, the Pacers have continued their winning ways even without their best player on the court. At 22-12, they’re fifth in the east and should only get better with deeper integration of their offseason additions and the return of Oladipo at whatever strength he might be.

Indiana isn’t the most entertaining of teams, but it’s successful nonetheless with the 10th-most wins in the league.

The same applies to Sabonis, who makes the Pacers better at both ends when he’s on the court and continues to take full advantage of the increased opportunities that only validate the level of production that came before it.