In a preview to the real All-Star Game that takes place Sunday, rookies like Kyrie Irving and Ricky Rubio will share the court with second-year studs like Blake Griffin and John Wall. Knicks guard Jeremy Lin was a late addition after a surprising two weeks.
Griffin is the only player who was selected to both all-star contests, and his dunking exploits have turned him into one of the league's most popular players. Of all the rising stars, he might have the highest trajectory.
A quartet of point guards have opened eyes with their play, too. Unlike Griffin, most of their highlights have come below the rim.
Everybody knows about Lin by now. Moving on…
Rubio threatened to be the league's biggest craze when he arrived from Spain, but he has since been eclipsed by Linsanity. The 21-year-old is a wizard handling the ball and is fifth in the league with 8.4 assists per game.
Wall has made a steady improvement from his all-rookie campaign, even if the strides haven't been as long as some would like. It's tough for anybody to truly excel on a team like the Wizards, however, so don't write off Wall just yet.
Irving was expected to play well — the Cavs wouldn't have spent the No. 1 draft pick on him if they didn't think so — but few expected him to make such an immediate impact. At 18.6 points per game, he is one of the most explosive point guards in the NBA regardless of age.
