2025-26 Fast Break Forum All-Stars

Daniel Waddleton

Apr 10, 2026

We are so close to playoff basketball, but before shifting fully into postseason mode of course we have to announce the 2026 Fast Break Forum All-Stars.

Unfamiliar? Well here are the rules.

• 12 players using the same format the NBA used to use, and still should use, for the All-Star Game.

• Nobody who made a real All-Star team in either of the last two seasons was eligible.

• No team could have more than two selections.

Pretty simple. To be clear this is NOT a list of the best players who were not All-Stars this season. It's just my 12 favorite eligible non-All-Stars from the year. Some are going to be top 30-40 players, others you may have not even realized were in the league. The exercise is meant to be loose and fun.

Starters

Backcourt: Derrick White, Boston Celtics

The fact White still has not made a real All-Star team says a lot about us as a basketball community. He was one of the most valuable players in the East this season, the kind of player who embodies what actually drives winning in this sport. The Celtics were 7.6 points better per 100 possessions with him on the floor in a down shooting year because White impacted games everywhere else: elite perimeter defense, low-turnover ball-handling, rim protection from the guard spot, deflections, loose balls, and all the other connective stuff that does not always show up in the box score but shows up all over Boston’s success. His 13.3 estimated wins, per Dunks & Threes, ranked seventh in the league.

Backcourt: Ty Jerome, Memphis Grizzlies

His second straight Fast Break Forum All-Star selection, because Jerome missed the first 43 games and Memphis was already buried by the time he returned, his season has mostly flown under the radar. Yet when he played, he was one of the best offensive engines in basketball, leading the NBA in points created per 75 possessions at 54.5 while Memphis posted a 121.1 offensive rating (elite) in his 339 minutes. He doesn't blow you away physically, but his feel, touch, shooting, playmaking, and decision-making are all so polished that it hardly matters.

Frontcourt: Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets

Knueppel wasn’t just some great rookie shooter, he’s already one of the best shooters in basketball, period. He’s not only set the new rookie record with 265 threes, but led the entire NBA in total threes, knocking down 43% from deep on nearly eight attempts per game. The heatmap is absurd: 47% on wide-open threes, 43.7% on pull-up threes, 43.7% on catch-and-shoot threes, 41% above the break, and 50% from the corners. Add in his playmaking on top of all that shoot gravity gravity, and it’s easy to see why there might be a future superstar hiding here.

Frontcourt: OG Anunoby, New York Knicks

Anunoby remains the unsung hero of this recent Knicks run of success. This 6’8 freak of nature is one of the few defenders in basketball who can legitimately guard all five positions, and even in the frustrating stretches when he feels forgotten within the offense, his presence is still felt because teams have to honor him. Pairing that kind of defensive versatility with 44% corner three-point shooting is traditional 3&D made in a lab, and how you end up with one of the most valuable non-stars in the league.

Frontcourt: Moussa Diabate, Charlotte Hornets

This incredible Charlotte turnaround does not happen without Diabate. The Hornets inserted the French big man into the starting lineup on December 23 with a 9-20 record, and have gone 34-16 since. His fingerprints are all over that jump: an +11.7 net rating in his minutes with an +12.3 on/off swing. His hyperactivity has been the perfect complement to this group of high-level shooters and playmakers, giving the Hornets rim protection, switch ability, offensive rebounding, and the kind of low-maintenance high-energy role-man Charlotte’s offensive personnel needs.

Reserves

Backcourt: Nickel Alexander-Walker, Atlanta Hawks

NAW may have just turned in a Most Improved Player season in his first year in Atlanta. What used to be mostly defensive intensity and spot-up shooting in Minnesota expanded into a much fuller offensive game under Quin Snyder. He became more comfortable as a primary initiator, learned the dark arts of getting to the line, and gave the Hawks extra value in how often they used him as an inverted screener and movement shooter off-screens. He even made some history, claiming Atlanta’s single-season franchise record with 244 made threes!

Backcourt: Cason Wallace, Oklahoma City Thunder

Arguably the best point-of-attack defender in basketball, that’s not even what gave Wallace the edge to make this team, but rather that on top of what he flashed offensively. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams out, Wallace looked comfortable taking on real offensive creation responsibility, averaging 14.6 points and 4.8 assists on 55.8 percent true shooting during a stretch where OKC went 8-4 without its two best offensive players. I think the full package of Wallace 2-3 years down the line has a lot higher ceiling then people realize.

Frontcourt: Jaime Jaquez Jr, Miami Heat

Super happy for my guy Jaquez, who following an ugly sophomore slump should win Sixth Man of the Year award this season. He’s bounced back in a big way with a season that I think flew under the radar, appearing in 71 games and starting just one, yet producing a 15-5-5 season for Miami. He was one of the key cogs in Erik Spoelstra’s no-pick-and-roll scheme, thriving with that bruising, herky-jerky style that lives in the paint. He averaged 17.7 drives per 36, finished 69.9% at the rim, and showed off his impressive touch and footwork to score in between as well.

Frontcourt: Ron Holland II, Detroit Pistons

This second coming of the Bad Boy Pistons 35 years later would not feel the same without Holland, one of the most intimidating defenders in basketball. He is going to finish 11th in the league in defensive EPM at +2.7, which is even more impressive when you realize most of the names around him are centers. Holland brings exactly the kind of edge, physicality, and chaos that defines Detroit’s identity. Just imagine if he ever became a positive offensive player.

Frontcourt: Neemas Queta, Boston Celtics

Boston does not overachieve the way it did without Queta. His middle-of-the-floor screening and playmaking was a main cog in the Celtics cutting edge offense, while his defense as their anchor big gave them stability on the back line. It showed in his +3.7 EPM that's higher than household bigs like Karl-Anthony Towns, Evan Mobley, and Bam Adebayo. When you combine that level of impact with a $2.3 million salary, you are looking at one of the best value seasons in the league for the current Eastern Conference favorites.

Wild Card: Oso Ighodaro, Phoenix Suns

Jordan Goodwin received consideration here too, but Ighodaro best captured why Phoenix worked. The Suns exceeded expectations by becoming more than the sum of their parts, and Ighodaro embodied that. He gave them a high IQ player, defensive versatility from a five-man, connective offense as a screener and playmaker, and aggression on both sides of the glass. He is not flashy, but he is about all the margins that can turn underwhelming rosters into overwhelming successes.

Wild Card: Christian Braun, Denver Nuggets

On its face, Braun doesn’t have the makings of a $125 million player. Yet for Denver, sometimes it feels like he’s earning the price tag. While I think at times, he’s a little overextended as their primary perimeter defender, he’s certainly not a negative on that end, and offensively his synergy with Nikola Jokic lets him pile up 20 to 25 points on any given night without really any self-creation. When your team has the best player in the world, and you find a role player who fits perfectly next to him, you’ll pay a premium.