If there are some new faces participating in the 2020 All-Star Game that casual basketball fans do not yet recognize, there is a reason.
This year (tied with 2002) will feature the most first-time NBA All-Stars since 1994. There will be 10 players that have never before made an All-Star team participating in Chicago this weekend.
Some of the starters in the game (Trae Young, Luka Doncic and Pascal Siakam) are rising stars that had not yet received this honor before this season. Others receiving their debut nods: Bam Adebayo, Brandon Ingram, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Domantas Sabonis and Jayson Tatum.
After a late injury to Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard, he was replaced by another first-time All-Star in 23-year-old Devin Booker.
With the addition of Booker, the average age for the NBA All-Stars this year is now just 26.89 years old. This is partly due to key injuries suffered by veteran stars like Stephen Curry, Keven Durant as well as Klay Thompson. However, the rapid rise of the aforementioned second-year players Doncic and Young both factor in this historically fresh group as well. In fact, the average age of the squads this season represents the youngest from an All-Star team since 1980. It is also the third-youngest of all-time, according to our research.
The average age this season is a stark difference of 1.82 years younger than the average age of the teams just last season. It is worth noting that marks the largest drop since the All-Star festivities began in 1950.
HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report