1) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1973 (security concerns)

On January 18, 1973, armed men broke into a home in Northwest Washington, D.C. and massacred the inhabitants, killing seven and injuring two. This was significant not just as the largest mass murder in D.C. history up to that point but also by virtue of the identity of the house’s owner, Abdul-Jabbar. The Bucks superstar had purchased the residence for his mentor and conversion inspiration, Hanafi Movement leader Hamaas Abdul Khaalis, who was not present at the time of the murders but lost his entire family in the incident. The act was quickly determined to be an escalation of tensions between Hanafi leadership and the Nation of Islam, which believed in a more radicalized version of Black nationalism. Just a few days later, Abdul-Jabbar was scheduled to play in the NBA All-Star Game in Chicago, the base of operations for the Nation of Islam. Though the group denied involvement in the attacks, security was still a major concern and the NBA granted Abdul-Jabbar an exemption from the game. He used that time to help with preparations for the victims’ funeral, at which he served as a pallbearer. For years after, Abdul-Jabbar would receive extra security whenever his Bucks or Lakers teams were playing in Chicago against the Bulls. He missed the All-Star Game just one other time in his career, in ’77-’78, when he sat out most of the first half of the season after breaking his hand in an on-court fight with Kent Benson.

2) Joel Embiid, 2021 (COVID-19 protocols)
3) Ben Simmons, 2021 (COVID-19 protocols)

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic hung heavy over the 2021 NBA All-Star Game. In fact, there was widespread debate and controversy over the potential “superspreader” event being held at all, including LeBron James calling its very existence a “slap in the face” to players. But the NBA was resolute, pushing the exhibition back from mid February to early March, relocating it from Indianapolis to Atlanta, and staging it in a near empty arena, as fans were not allowed to attend. There were also heavy COVID-19 protocols in place, including specialized transportation, rules of conduct, and regular testing. The NBA would later tout that not a single player, coach, or staff member tested positive during the entire event. But there were two players, Embiid and Simmons, who were forced to sit out the game due to contact tracing. It was later revealed that the two Sixers stars had both visited their barber in Philadelphia before traveling to Atlanta, and he soon after tested positive for COVID-19. Due to the protocols in place and the announcement coming on the morning of the All-Star Game, neither player was replaced in the lineup. While Embiid has made three All-Star appearances and counting since this incident, it may have been Simmons’ last chance to participate, as his career began to spiral soon after.

4) Rudy LaRusso, 1962 (Elgin Baylor’s eligibility)

In the ’61-’62 season, Elgin Baylor averaged a career high 38.3 points per game, finished fourth in MVP voting, and led the Lakers to the precipice of glory, losing to the Celtics in a thrilling, seven game NBA Finals. He also missed almost the entire second half of the season, not due to injury but military service. Baylor had previously signed up as an army reservist, expecting to balance his military duties with his burgeoning NBA career. But in January of 1962, he was called into active duty at Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington, as the U.S. military sought to prepare its forces in response to the building of the Berlin Wall. Baylor was essentially granted a weekend pass during that time, allowing him to appear in Lakers home games that were scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays for the remainder of the season. It was initially assumed that he would not receive a deferral to play in the All-Star Game in St. Louis and Lakers coach Fred Schaus selected his starting power forward LaRusso as the replacement. LaRusso was all set to make his All-Star debut when Baylor was granted travel permission at the last moment and flew from Tacoma to St. Louis to play. Even though he hadn’t even touched a basketball in over two weeks, Baylor was the West’s leading scorer with 32 points in a 150-130 victory. LaRusso watched the game in street clothes but would be named to four more All-Star teams in his career and actually appeared in the game each time.

5) Allen Iverson, 2010 (daughter’s illness)

When Iverson was voted in by fans as an All-Star starter in 2010, the backlash was rapid and vicious. Just months before, Iverson had essentially quit on the Grizzlies due to lack of playing time, “mutually parting ways” with the franchise after just three games. He signed with the 76ers a few weeks later, returning to the site of his biggest career glories. But this version of Iverson was a shell of his former self, laboring on the court with a bum knee for a Sixers team mired at the bottom of the standings. Just as he had been regarding the multiple earlier controversies on his career, Iverson was unapologetic about his All-Star nod and defiantly stated that he intended to play as a tribute to the fans who voted for him. But just a couple weeks before the All-Star Weekend, Iverson took a mysterious leave of absence from the 76ers. He was granted a dismissal from the All-Star Game due to “personal reasons” and replaced by New York’s David Lee. It was later revealed that Iverson was taking time off to tend to his young daughter, who was suffering from a rare illness called Kawasaki disease. He played three more games for the 76ers that season before stepping away indefinitely. It would turn out to be the concluding games of Iverson’s NBA career, and his 11th and final All-Star nod.

6) Karl Malone, 1990 (“injury”)
7) Karl Malone, 2002 (mother’s illness)

Dozens of players have missed the All-Star Game over the years due to hurt knees, feet, and ankles, but Malone is the only one to sit out with an injury to his pride. The Jazz superstar had been named MVP of the 1989 All-Star Game and was enjoying a career year in ’89-’90, averaging 31.1 points and 11.0 rebounds through the first three months of the season, while leading Utah to a 31-12 record. But when the All-Star starters were announced, the West forwards were James Worthy and A.C. Green, a supposed result of Lakers fans stuffing the voting ballots. The inclusion of Green was especially grievous, as the defensive specialist and first time All-Star was averaging just 13.9 points and 9.5 rebounds per game at the time of the announcement. Malone certainly felt as much, openly announcing that he would boycott the competition when coach Pat Riley selected him for a bench spot. But rather than face the wrath of the league office due to his defiant stance, Malone eventually settled on a different tact at the last minute, claiming that an ankle injury suffered during a win against the Hornets right before the All-Star break was preventing him from traveling to the competition in Miami. The NBA also stood down, accepting Malone’s excused absence and replacing him on the roster with Dallas’ Rolando Blackman (Malone notably didn’t miss a single regular season game, dropping 40 points in Utah’s first game after the break). Over a decade later, Malone was scheduled to make his 13th and final All-Star appearance in the 2002 edition in Philadelphia but backed out at the last minute. This time it was a lot more reasonable, as Malone wanted to be with his mother, who had been hospitalized back in Salt Lake City.

8) Jimmy Butler, 2018 (coach’s decision)

Befitting a player who typically saves his best performances for the most crucial contests, Butler and All-Star Games have never mixed. He’s been named to the roster for the exhibition contest six times in his career but has sat out twice, and played only an average of less than 13 minutes per game in the other four. Butler skipped the 2016 edition due to an injury and was replaced by his Bulls teammate, Pau Gasol. In 2018, now as a member of the Timberwolves, he showed up with a sore knee only to spend the entire game on the bench, receiving “DNP – coach’s decision” as an official designation in the box score. We later found out in retrospect that it was actually a player’s decision, as Butler apparently asked coach Mike D’Antoni to bench him. It was a wise decision by Butler, who was putting up the biggest usage stats of his career carrying the moribund T-Wolves into playoff contention, but it didn’t do him much good, as he suffered a knee injury just a few days later and missed essentially the entire stretch run of the season. Perhaps as a response to his self-benching in 2018, Butler was snubbed from the All-Star roster the next year but did make return appearances in 2020 and 2022 as a member of the Heat.

9) Jack Molinas, 1954 (suspended)

A solid power forward with a deft touch and rebounding skills, Molinas was enjoying a terrific rookie season for the Fort Wayne Pistons. The fourth overall pick was one of four Pistons players named to the Western Conference All-Star roster but soon after was not only banned from the game but from the NBA for life. Commissioner Maurice Podoloff brought the hammer down on Molinas in mid January for gambling on his own games, a heavy punishment that reflected the league’s skittishness in the wake of the 1951 NCAA points shaving scandal. Though Molinas never played another NBA game, let alone an All-Star Game, his specter hung over the league for years up until his eventual death (likely in a mob hit). This included his multiple lawsuits against the league to his possible involvement in thrown games in the 1955 NBA Finals to his handler status with Connie Hawkins and Roger Brown in the 1961 point shaving scandal.