From Giannis' dunks to LeBron's late-career scoring, picking the 10 best skills from 10 NBA All-Stars

Stephen Noh

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From Giannis' dunks to LeBron's late-career scoring, picking the 10 best skills from 10 NBA All-Stars image

In order to be named an All-Star starter, it's not good enough to be great. Rather, you have to be the best in the world at something.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell all passed that bar in the Eastern Conference. LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson and Nikola Jokic did it out West.

In honor of celebrating their greatness, here is one spectacular skill from each of those 10 players. They can earnestly say that nobody has done it better than them this season in these categories.

(All statistics current as of Feb. 14)

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Giannis Antetokounmpo is the NBA's most prolific dunker

Antetokounmpo is a terror in transition. At 8.4 runouts per game, per NBA Stats, nobody else gets more scoring attempts from fast breaks.

Once Antetokounmpo gets going downhill, he's impossible to stop. He's recorded 147 dunks this season, per Basketball-Reference, the highest number in the league.

Kyrie Irving is the NBA's best isolation scorer

Irving is known for having the best bag in the league. The numbers back that statement up.

Of players who have a minimum of 100 isolation possessions, Irving's 1.28 points per possession is the highest number in the league, per NBA Stats. He's shooting 56 percent when his team gives him the ball and clears out to let him cook.

Kevin Durant is the NBA's most unstoppable pick-and-roll scorer

Durant is dangerous in pretty much every scenario, but one really easy way to get him going is to give him the ball and let rim run a pick-and-roll.

Of players who have been the ball handler at least 100 times on pick-and-rolls this season, Durant's 1.19 points per possession leads the league, per NBA Stats. Curry, his former teammate, is right behind him at 1.18 points per possession.

Donovan Mitchell has the best nose for the ball

You probably already know that Mitchell is an elite scorer. His 71-point game this season left little doubt about that. But did you know that he leads the league in one of its hustle stats?

Mitchell isn't known for his defensive exploits, although he has gotten much better on that end this season. Part of that value lies in his ability to pick up 50-50 balls. His 1.1 loose balls recovered per game is the top mark in the league.

Jayson Tatum has the most points in the NBA

Tatum's 30.5 points per game is only the sixth-highest mark in the league, but he's consistently been available, missing only two games so far this year.

That has made his 1,647 points the highest mark at the All-Star break, per Basketball-Reference.

LeBron James has the best scoring average of any 38-year-old

James' 30 points per game at the age of 38 is significantly higher than the number of his next-closest competitor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (23.4).

James also holds the highest scoring average for a 37-year-old and 35-year-old. (Karl Malone beat him out at age 36.)

Stephen Curry is the NBA's best spot-up (and pull-up) shooter

If there's any doubt that Curry is the best shooter in the league, check out his shooting statistics. His 1.44 points per possession on spot-ups is the highest mark in the league, per NBA Stats.

Curry is also far and away the best shooter on pull-up triples, drilling an absurd 47.3 percent of those looks this season, per NBA Stats. Mitchell, in second place, is hitting 39.6 percent of those looks.

Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic have the NBA's best touch

The short midrange area is considered a dead zone in the league. Players are so bad in this section of the floor — the average shooting percentage hovers below 40 percent — that they are encouraged not to shoot.

Well, unless they have unbelievable touch like Doncic and Jokic.

Per Cleaning the Glass, Doncic hits 55 percent of those short midrangers, the best mark among guards. Jokic is at an even more impressive 61 percent, the best figure in the league.

Both of these players are able to use their size and smarts to turn these bad shots into great attempts.

Zion Williamson is still unstoppable in the paint

The last time Williamson was fully healthy, back in the 2020-21 season, he burst on the scene by leading the league in points in the paint. He's doing it again this season — his 19.1 points in the paint is a shade above Antetokounmpo, per NBA Stats.

Williamson has added more moves to his arsenal, finishing with both hands at the rim rather than relying exclusively on moves to his left. All of that adds up to a player that is too strong, fast and athletic to stop once he gets the ball near the basket.

Stephen Noh

Stephen Noh Photo

Stephen Noh started writing about the NBA as one of the first members of The Athletic in 2016. He covered the Chicago Bulls, both through big outlets and independent newsletters, for six years before joining The Sporting News in 2022. Stephen is also an avid poker player and wrote for PokerNews while covering the World Series of Poker from 2006-2008.