19) Mychal Thompson (came closest: 1982)

Remembered more by fans now for his later years as a role player with the Showtime Lakers, Thompson was actually a focal point of the Blazers offense early in his career. Drafted first overall by Portland in 1978, Thompson struggled with injuries early on but his ’81-’82 season was a revelation, with 20.8 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. Though two center spots in the West were obviously locked up in the early ’80s by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Moses Malone, it’s hard to understand why Thompson was passed over in 1982 for Jack Sikma. He never reached those statistical heights again but Thompson is the one person on this list whose son has made an All-Star team, with Klay getting the nod five times.

18) Byron Scott (came closest: 1988)

Like several other players on this list, Scott’s greatness as a player came less as an individual standout and more as a well-placed cog in a championship-winning machine. He probably would have excelled as a high-scoring shooting guard for the Clippers team that drafted him in 1983 but Scott’s career took a turn when he was dealt to the Lakers. Blending perfectly into the Showtime offense with his shooting touch, Scott also provided some much-needed defensive intensity on the perimeter and was part of three championship teams. During the last of those title seasons, ’87-’88, Scott actually led the Lakers in regular season scoring with 21.7 points per game and arguably should have been included on the All-Star roster that year over San Antonio’s Alvin Robertson.

17) Marcus Camby (came closest: 2006)

A ferocious defender and terrific team player, Camby was Defensive Player of the Year in ’06-’07 but never really considered an All-Star talent due to his lack of consistent scoring. Though he regularly averaged double-digit rebounds and led the NBA in blocks per game three times, Camby topped 13+ points per game just once, in his rookie season. It’s arguable that his rookie campaign with Toronto was Camby’s best chance at All-Star status but the East was stacked that year at center with Dikembe Mutombo, Chris Webber, and a not-yet-washed-up Vin Baker. In ’05-’06 Camby was getting attention on a Nuggets team that was rounding into a contender around Carmelo Anthony, but the West fielded just two centers that year in Yao Ming and Pau Gasol.

16) Sam Perkins (came closest: 1992)

His career can hardly be called a disappointment but Perkins was a fourth overall draft pick and never did top off at an All-Star level during his stops in Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle. Perk’s top asset was his consistency, averaging 13+ points and 7+ rebounds per game for eight straight seasons early in his career and his best case for All-Star status came in ’91-’92. After Magic Johnson’s sudden retirement left the Lakers in disarray, Perkins was one of their top performers, finishing with career highs in scoring (16.5) and rebounding (8.8), but missed out on a roster spot to Otis Thorpe, who was producing slightly better stats for Houston. That 1992 All-Star Game is now best remembered for Magic returning and earning MVP honors.

15) Mickey Johnson (came closest: 1980)

Like many others on this list, Johnson makes an appearance for having a great overall career but never any individual elite season. He averaged a double-double in ’76-’77 for the Bulls (then in the Western Conference) with 17.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, and peaked in scoring in ’79-’80 for the Pacers with 19.1 points. That 1977 Western Conference team was one of the weakest in All-Star history but featured no room for Johnson, as Nuggets power forward Bobby Jones was in the starting lineup and Blazers power forward Maurice Lucas was on the bench. An arguably even stronger case could be made for Johnson on the 1980 East team but he was passed over for Atlanta’s Dan Roundfield.

14) Ron Harper (came closest: 1994)

Early in his career with Cleveland, Harper was going to have a difficult time cracking an Eastern Conference lineup that was fielding Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Julius Erving at the wings, while later on with the Clippers, Harper was stuck behind a shooting guard logjam of Clyde Drexler and Mitch Richmond. Injuries also played an unfortunate part, as Harper blew out his knee early on in what was shaping up to be a career year in ’89-’90. He came back with his athleticism sapped but far from completely gone, and arguably deserved a spot over Latrell Sprewell in 1994. Harper then immediately shifted into the third act of his career as a role player, off the All-Star map, for championship teams in Chicago and Los Angeles.

13) Jason Richardson (came closest: 2006)

While he wasn’t part of the All-Star Game, Richardson was a presence on All-Star Saturday in his first three seasons, winning two Slam Dunk Contests. His fourth NBA campaign in ’04-’05 seemed like a perfect time to graduate to the Sunday exhibition but Richardson was passed over for Manu Ginobili, as chosen by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. In ’05-’06, Richardson averaged a career high 23.2 points per game and added 5.8 rebounds per game but once again he was left off the team despite finishing seventh in voting amongst Western Conference guards. Golden State’s struggles at the time were certainly a factor, as Richardson was compiling big numbers for a team mired in arguably its worst stretch in franchise history.

12) Jamal Crawford (came closest: 2013)

Playing off the bench is not conducive to All-Star inclusion, even when you’re the three-time Sixth Man of the Year. Crawford’s best statistical season came in ’07-’08, when he was the starting shooting guard for the struggling, Isiah Thomas-coached Knicks. But he hardly stood a chance of making the All-Star roster over Ray Allen, Joe Johnson, or Rip Hamilton. Though his scoring rate dipped from there as he became a sixth man, Crawford garnered some serious All-Star hype in 2013 as a member of the surging Clippers but was left off a roster that featured his teammate Chris Paul as a starter. In ’18-’19, as his career was winding down, Crawford overtook Eddie Johnson as the all-time leading career scorer amongst players without an All-Star nod.

11) Mike Bibby (came closest: 2005)

Though the Western Conference was stacked with overall talent during Bibby’s prime with Sacramento, point guard was arguably the weakest position. This led to an especially egregious snub of Bibby in 2005, when Steve Nash was the only pure point guard on the West roster. The voted-in starters at guard for the West that year were Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady, while shooting guards Ray Allen and Manu Ginobili were also added to the bench. This was something of a theme in Bibby’s long but ultimately indistinctive career, playing for easily overlooked teams (no matter how talented) against tough competition, making his biggest impact typically in the playoff pressure cooker.

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By the numbers: All-time leaders amongst players without an All-Star appearance

	Points	Rebounds	Assists
1	Jamal Crawford (19,419)	Marcus Camby (9,513)	Andre Miller (8,524)
2	Eddie Johnson (19,202)	Leroy Ellis (8,709)	Rod Strickland (7,987)
3	Jason Terry (18,881)	Michael Cage (8,646)	Muggsy Bogues (6,726)
4	Andre Miller (16,728)	P.J. Brown (8,409)	Derek Harper (6,577)
5	Rudy Gay (16,187)	Lamar Odom (8,059)	John Lucas (6,454)

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10) Monta Ellis (came closest: 2010)

While it was compiled for uniformly mediocre Warriors teams, Ellis did average 22.7 points per game during a four year prime. His name was bandied about as an All-Star reserve each of those seasons but he missed out every time. Chauncey Billups theoretically grabbed the last Western Conference guard spot in 2009 ahead of Ellis, followed by Deron Williams in 2010 and Manu Ginobili in 2011. That 2010 snub sticks out the most, as Ellis finished sixth in the league in scoring that season with 25.5 points per game. After a couple down years, Ellis made one last push for an All-Star designation in 2015, when he was clearly the best player on a solid Mavericks team but there was no room for him on a packed roster highlighted by his Golden State successor Steph Curry.

9) Lamar Odom (came closest: 2011)

A troubled start to his NBA career with the Clippers gave Odom a reputation he could never quite shake. Even as he was a key component of back-to-back Lakers titles in 2009 and 2010, Odom was never getting mentioned as an All-Star level talent. His career is better measured in its consistency, as Odom averaged 10+ points and eight-plus rebounds per game for eight consecutive seasons in his prime. His best chance at an All-Star nod was likely ’10-’11, when he was coming off a star turn for the U.S. national team at the FIBA Worlds. But Odom was overlooked in favor of young stars Kevin Love and Blake Griffin each making their first appearance, and had to settle for winning Sixth Man of the Year that season, his only major individual accolade.

8) Josh Smith (came closest: 2012)

To the disdain of Hawks fans, Smith’s annual snubbing from the All-Star roster became a yearly tradition starting around 2008. A steady scorer, rebounder, and defender, Smith did almost everything on the court well but no particular thing spectacularly. As his Atlanta teammates Joe Johnson and Al Horford became All-Star regulars, Smith was always the bridesmaid. His 2012 snubbing may be the most egregious in recent memory. Smith put up career highs of 18.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game that season, better numbers than All-Star honorees Luol Deng and Andre Iguodala. Even worse, Johnson made the team over Smith despite having missed significant time with an injury, and when Johnson pulled out, Rajon Rondo was chosen as his replacement.

7) Derek Harper (came closest: 1991)

One of the steadiest point guards and best defenders of his era, Harper found himself consistently overlooked for flashier players like Tim Hardaway and Kevin Johnson. Forget about the Western Conference spots in front of them, which were locked down by Magic Johnson and John Stockton indefinitely. An opportunity presented itself in 1989, when Johnson was injured and pulled out of the game but Harper was passed over for a 41-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in his final season, who became the fourth center on the roster for the West. Maybe even more puzzling was 1991 when the West fielded four point guards but went with Portland’s Terry Porter over Harper, even though the two had similar stats and Harper was the obviously superior defender.

6) Eddie Johnson (came closest: 1985)

Formerly the record holder for most total career points scored without an All-Star appearance (Jamal Crawford passed him in 2019), that wasn’t enough for Johnson to overcome being a Kansas City King. Between 1981 and 1992, the Kings had an 11-year drought without an All-Star representative. Johnson came the closest during that span, especially in 1984 and 1985. In ’83-’84, he was the leading scorer for a Kings team that made a surprise playoff appearance and in ’84-’85, scored a career high 22.9 points per game. He wasn’t even passed over for elite talent either, losing his spots those years to Kiki Vandeweghe and Calvin Natt, respectively. Traded to the Suns in 1987, Johnson accepted a bench role to finally play on a contender and earned Sixth Man of the Year.

5) Jason Terry (came closest: 2010)

Terry’s most impressive performances usually came in the playoffs, especially Dallas’ 2011 title run, but Terry had his share of regular season success as well. In his second and third seasons in the NBA, Terry averaged 19.5 points and 5.3 assists per game for the Hawks. The Eastern Conference was generally bereft of talent at the time but one position with depth was Terry’s, shooting guard. He was left off the roster in his prime behind the likes of Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Ray Allen, and a back-from-retirement Michael Jordan. His other best chance came in 2010 when several stars were out due to injury, but Terry’s Dallas teammate Jason Kidd was chosen instead. Though never an All-Star, Terry did compete in the Three-Point Shootout twice.

4) Al Jefferson (came closest: 2014)
3) Rudy Gay (came closest: 2012)

Few players have racked up huge stats for bad teams more so than Jefferson and Gay. It’s no coincidence that in addition to appearing near the top of this list, they’re also two of the all-time greatest players to never advance past the first round of the playoffs. Jefferson likely would have multiple All-Star appearances if he played in an earlier era, but his traditional center role was being phased out just as he hit the league. He probably deserved a spot representing the Bobcats in ’13-’14 when he was passed over as an All-Star but ultimately named 3rd-Team All-NBA. As for Gay, his career was best summarized in his second season, averaging 20.1 points per game for a Grizzlies team that finished 22-60. Then ,just as the Grizzlies were rounding into playoff contenders, Gay was traded to a miserable Kings team. It didn’t help that the West was stacked at both forward positions throughout his career, leaving little room for inclusion.

2) Rod Strickland (came closest: 1998)

He isn’t first on this list but Strickland suffered arguably the most insulting All-Star snub of all time in 1998. The dynamic point guard was having a career year for the Bullets, eventually ending with an assist title (10.5 per game) and 2nd-Team All-NBA designation. Even better, the All-Star Game was taking place in New York, where Strickland was born, raised, and became a playground legend. But the East starting spot went to Penny Hardaway, who had just been sidelined for seven weeks with an injury, and the only reserve point guard was an aging Tim Hardaway. Strickland’s star Washington teammate Chris Webber was similarly snubbed that February but would go on to make five total appearances.

1) Andre Miller (came closest: 2002)

For years Miller was an unfortunate entry on not just this list, but also the enumeration of the greatest players never to reach the second round of the playoffs. He broke that postseason streak in 2014 with the Wizards but Miller never made an All-Star roster in his 17 NBA seasons. Like Rod Strickland and Kevin Porter, Miller missed the All-Star Game in a season in which he led the league in assists. The fact that he was playing that season, ’01-’02, with a terrible Cavs team that featured Lamond Murray as the leading scorer makes Miller’s 10.5 assists per game even more impressive. But the East fielded three guards in the starting lineup that year, with Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson, and Michael Jordan (who was technically a small forward that season for Washington), leaving room for only one point guard on the bench in Baron Davis.