No, he’s not an NBA All-Star. 

Yet. 

But Friday evening on TNT, the Flyer Faithful will get to see one of our own participate in the Castrol Rising Stars during the NBA All-Star Weekend at the Chase Center in San Francisco. Toumani will be a member of “Team Mitch” coached by NBA Hall of Famer Mitch Richmond.

The logistics for the weekend are rather convoluted so here are the rosters and guidelines:

https://www.nba.com/news/2025-nba-rising-stars

The winner of the Friday games will then participate against a trio of seven-man teams of real NBA All-Stars in another four team round robin on Sunday.

So, the question is: 

How did a second round draft pick chosen #52 overall get here?

In a word: 

Defense

And what is the one thing that is perennially lacking in an NBA All-Star Game

Defense

Thanks to his tenacious D (and his ability to draw charges–he leads the NBA with 23), Tou has been getting a ton of positive press lately.  Some highlights:

Finding a Role: Toumani Camara

https://theswishtheory.com/nba/2025/01/finding-a-role-toumani-camara/ 

From The Rose Garden Report:

Trail Blazers Have Found a Foundation With Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara

https://www.rosegardenreport.com/p/trail-blazers-have-found-a-foundation

From The Athletic:

Toumani Camara ‘doesn’t give up’: What opponents see in Trail Blazers’ young defender

https://archive.is/FfeFL

Insightful article from The Ringer:

Wing Men: How “3-and-D” Came to Dominate the NBA

https://www.theringer.com/2025/01/28/nba/3-and-d-history-toumani-camara-portland-trail-blazers

And look who is the poster boy:

The Meteoric Rise of Toumani Camara: From Trade Afterthought to Portland’s Diamond

https://substack.com/home/post/p-156337210 

The recent “From the Swamp” interview with Toumani when he played here in Motown:

https://www.udpride.com/camara-comes-to-motown/ 

Video confirmation of just how good Toumani’s D is, as he and his Blazer teammates recently held Obi’s All-Star teammate Tyrese Haliburton scoreless:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ripcity/comments/1ilb8sd/one_of_the_best_defensive_performances_youll_see/

Love this video:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ripcity/comments/1ig1qqe/toumani_camara_is_the_codebreaker/

Trivia time:

https://x.com/ProLOWD/status/1885929547662573590?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1885929547662573590%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=

In his tweet, UD superfan Professionally Lowd says there were 12 other former Flyers who scored 1,000 points in the NBA, but I only count 11. 

How many of the other players besides Tou and Obi can you name?

That’s it “From the Swamp.”