Which player in the Miami Heat's young core has the best chance to be an All Star?

That's a wrap for NBA All Star weekend.

The Miami Heat were in the mix, including an All Star game appearance and three point contest showing for Norman Powell, rising stars opportunities for Kel'el Ware and Jahmir Young, and of course the big storyline, Keshad Johnson taking home some hardware in the dunk contest.

It's a weekend that Miami usually finds some success in, after Tyler Herro won the three point contest a year ago after making his first ever All Star game.

So after two straight seasons of Miami sending first time All-Stars, it raises a different question: who could be next for the Heat?

Kel’el Ware might’ve been the happiest person seeing Keshad Johnson win the dunk contest

Brotherhood🥹 pic.twitter.com/SFKzOtpwuy
— 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙩𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 (@WadexFlash) February 15, 2026

When looking down the list of the team's young core, it would feel like an uphill battle for Jaime Jaquez Jr and Pelle Larsson.

If Jaquez Jr was able to find a way to All Star status, it would most likely have to come from being traded away to a worse team, where he'd take a big jump in his points per game just based off usage and shot attempts rising.

Larsson, on the other hand, has put together a huge season for Miami. Improving in all major categories after his rookie season, showcasing a pretty complete all-around skill-set that is good enough to earn him a pretty secure starting spot.

But with that said, he projects forward as a high floor, extremely solid complementary piece to the primary scorers on the roster. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Reality of the situation when projecting forward into All Star opporunities is this: can the guy be a number one or two option on an average or above average seed in their respective conference?

As great as Larsson seems to be trending, his unselfishness most likely won't allow him to get to a point where he's the second leading scorer on a playoff team.

Pelle Larsson on where he sees himself in 10-15 years:

“I mean definitely NBA Champion — seeing the parade after the game… that’s what you fight for your whole life, your season. It’s a great feeling to say you’re the best until the next season starts.”

Continued below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/wZ92d5XudD
— Pelle Larsson Muse (@pelle_muse) February 13, 2026

The next player to note is Nikola Jovic. If we were having this conversation before the season, we might be projecting in much louder fashion.

Even after a rocky season for Jovic, the best version of himself also seems to fall into the column of high upside role player who can make others better. But even that potential upside leaves that All Star nod seem out of reach.

That lands us on the two guys to discuss: Kel'el Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis.

Ware is the easy answer for most likely to find his way into that tier, mostly since he has the league-wide buzz that is needed for this type of ackowledgement.

If he's able to reach his full potential, which includes some loud numbers in both the scoring and rebounding stat columns, it would seem he would have the best shot.

Also the lack of depth at the big man position could make it a bit easier.

But I don't want to put any limits on this 19 year old rookie for Miami. Jakucionis has been really finding his groove right before the All Star break, and that's within a role that has yet to fully take the leash off him.

A role model that has been discussed for Jakucionis since he entered the league has been Goran Dragic, who made the All Star team in 2018 for the first time......at the age of 32 years old.

With a 13 year head start, all I will say is that I'm not going to be the one to put him in a box, as his future appears to be bright.

Ware may be the most likely All Star apart of the young core, but it's not crazy to say that Miami would benefit most if that guys ends up being the young two-way point guard who can score and play-make at a high level.