The All-Star break is a great opportunity for teams to reset. With less than two months until the playoffs, players get a chance to recover from nagging injuries and coaches can reset mentally before the final stretch of a lengthy regular season.
Fantasy managers get the opportunity to do the same. A week off from scouring the waiver wire as soon as you wake up. The fantasy playoffs in many leagues will start March 2, which means there are only a couple weeks left until the postseason. Start making moves now to maximize your games played during your playoffs.
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Waiver wire adds can push your team to a championship, but you can only be in that situation if your stars are healthy and dominating. For this year’s fantasy All-Stars, I went with players that have been both excellent and available. The games played minimum is set at 35, so roughly two-thirds of a player’s possible games played. That led to some studs not making the cut, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Austin Reaves, even if they have all been incredible and can be difference-makers down the stretch if healthy.
Using the NBA’s new All-Star roster format of Team World, Team USA (old guys) and Team USA (young guys), we have our 24 fantasy All-Stars. Having a team with a few of these guys likely means you’re sitting near the top of your standings and preparing for the postseason (unless you have some ridiculous bad luck, which happens in fantasy).
Team WorldNikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Unsurprisingly, Jokic headlines Team World. He missed about a month with a knee injury, which was unfortunate, but he is back to dominating already. He has been the best player in fantasy basketball of the 2020s, which hasn’t changed this season.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
The reigning MVP missed the final five games before the All-Star break, but he only missed two games prior to that and has been dominant all season. His counting stats are slightly down from last season, but he has been even more efficient.
Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio has managed Wemby’s minutes for most of the season, but he has still been able to replicate his production from last season while being even more efficient. He has the Spurs just three games out of first in the West.
Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers
Doncic was still incredible last season, but after a tumultuous year for him, he has gotten back to producing like he did during the 2023-24 season. LeBron James has been better recently, but both he and Austin Reaves have missed time this year. The Lakers are 5th in the West because of how dominant Doncic has been.
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Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
Murray is making his first All-Star appearance this weekend, and he has also had the best fantasy season of his career. He is averaging career highs in points, rebounds, assists and three-pointers per game while also posting the best field goal percentage of his career. Everyone else in Denver has missed significant time this year, but Murray has kept them afloat.
Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz
After struggling during the 2024-25 season, Markkanen bounced back in a big way this year. He’s averaging career highs in points, assists and steals in what has been arguably the best statistical season of his career. Hopefully we’ll get to see him keep it up down the stretch of this season.
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Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
With Fred VanVleet (knee) sidelined for the season, Sengun has stepped up as the primary facilitator in Houston. He is averaging career highs in assists, steals and blocks, which has helped him lead the Rockets to the 4th-best record in the West.
Alex Sarr, Washington Wizards
In his second season, Sarr has taken drastic strides on both ends of the floor. His field goal percentage is up over 10 percent from last year, and he is posting career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. He’s going to be a fantasy star for a long time. Unfortunately, he’s set to miss some time with a hamstring injury.
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Team USA StripesKawhi Leonard, LA Clippers
The most (pleasantly) surprising thing about Leonard cracking this list is that he has played enough games. He has missed some time, but he has been available for most of the year and has been playing some of the best basketball of his career. He is averaging career highs in points and three-pointers per game while also shooting the best free throw percentage of his career.
Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
Mitchell is averaging a career high in points per game to go with the best field goal percentage of his career. The Cavs are 17-5 over their last 22 games, and Mitchell will look to take his team further in the playoffs with his new backcourt partner James Harden.
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Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
The man that has singlehandedly been keeping the Warriors afloat in recent years just keeps on getting it done. He missed the final five games entering the All-Star break but has been mostly available this season. Surprise, surprise, he’s leading the league in triples per game again.
James Harden, Cleveland Cavaliers
Harden’s 25.0 points per game this year are his highest average since the 2019-20 season, when he led the league with 34.3 points per game. He’s not that MVP caliber player that he once was, but he has had an excellent year and will look to keep that going with the Cavs down the stretch of this season.
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Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets
It doesn’t seem to matter what jersey KD is wearing. He’s going to put up an efficient 25 points per game. He’s only missed five games this season, which is impressive at 37 years old. Durant is clearly still one of the best scorers in the NBA.
Michael Porter Jr., Brooklyn Nets
MPJ’s value in Denver deteriorated, which led to him being shipped to Brooklyn for Cam Johnson. This is the first time in his career that he has been a top scoring option, and he has taken advantage of the opportunity, averaging career highs in points, assists and three-pointers per game.
Mikal Bridges, New York Knicks
Bridges’ usage is down this season, but he is posting a career high in assists per game while also averaging his most steals per game since his second year in the league. He has cooled down in recent weeks, but he’s done enough over the course of the season to make this list.
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Derrick White, Boston Celtics
If White’s field goal percentage wasn’t below 40 percent for the first time in his career, we’d be looking at White as a top-10 player in fantasy basketball this season. He is averaging career highs in points, assists, steals and blocks. Boston is 2nd in the East entering the All-Star break, and White has helped them have success without Jayson Tatum.
Team USA StarsTyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
Somehow, Maxey just keeps getting better. He is averaging career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and three-pointers per game. The 76ers are officially his team, though the reemergence of Joel Embiid will give them a chance to really make some noise in the East. We’re officially in fantasy superstar status for Maxey.
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Trey Murphy, New Orleans Pelicans
Murphy has been one of the lone bright spots in New Orleans this season. He is averaging career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and three-pointers per game, though that hasn’t been enough to make this team competitive. Hopefully this right shoulder injury won’t keep him sidelined for the rest of this season.
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Edwards seems to improve on something every season, but this year he simply became a better scorer. His rim, mid-range and three-point percentage are all the best marks of his career, which had led to a career-high in points per game.
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Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors
Toronto has been much better as a team this season, and Barnes has been a big part of that. He’s having the most efficient scoring season of his career while still stuffing the stat sheet across the board. There aren’t many players in the league that are more tailored for fantasy basketball than Barnes.
Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks
Johnson made a huge leap last season, but he has somehow done it again this year. He’s second in the league in both double-doubles and triple-doubles while also averaging a bunch of career highs across the board. Atlanta handed him the keys by dealing Trae Young to Washington, and Johnson has taken advantage.
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Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
Detroit has the fewest losses in the league entering the All-Star break, and Cunningham has been at the center of it all. The efficiency has been average, but he has poured in the counting stats across the board. He may not win the award, but there is a reason Cade is in the middle of the MVP race.
Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder
After only playing 32 games last season, Holmgren has barely missed time this year and has been excellent for fantasy managers. He’s averaging career highs in points and rebounds per game while also ranking in the top-five in blocks per game.
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Keyonte George, Utah Jazz
If anyone saw this list during the preseason, George would be the biggest surprise, but he has been that good. He has taken a monster leap forward on offense after being behind Isaiah Collier in the rotation to end last season. George was one of the best late-round picks this year, and he should continue to dominate when he returns from this ankle injury.
Top Snubs:Karl-Anthony Towns, New York KnicksJaylen Brown, Boston CelticsEvan Mobley, Cleveland CavaliersJalen Duren, Detroit PistonsJimmy Butler, Golden State Warriors