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Breaking Down the Most Accomplished NBA Players to Never Make an All-Star Game

Let's dive into some forgotten notable basketball names.

Patrick Andres

Jamal Crawford during the Suns' 120–109 loss to the Mavericks on April 9, 2019.
Jamal Crawford during the Suns' 120–109 loss to the Mavericks on April 9, 2019. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The NBA is an exclusive league, and accordingly, its All-Star Game is an exclusive game.

Per Basketball Reference, 448 players have made the NBA All-Star Game all-time. Additionally, 91 made the ABA All-Star Game in that league's lifetime, with some overlap between the two circuits.

If basketball's club of All-Stars is so small, it follows that some huge names throughout the history of the game have gone their entire careers without making the annual showcase. With that in mind, here's a look (using Statmuse data) at non-NBA All-Stars who accumulated the most in certain key statistics—minutes, points, rebounds, assists and so on—in the regular season and the playoffs.

Which NBA players have played the most regular-season and playoff minutes without making the All-Star Game?

RANK

PLAYER

REGULAR-SEASON MINUTES

RANK

PLAYER

PLAYOFF MINUTES

1

Jason Terry

42,034

1

Derek Fisher

6,856

2

Andre Miller

40,268

2

Robert Horry

6,823

3

Jamal Crawford

38,994

3

Byron Scott

5,365

4

Derek Harper

37,786

4

Tayshaun Prince

4,977

5

Sam Perkins

36,598

5

Sam Perkins

4,785

6

Rudy Gay

34,560

6

Michael Cooper

4,744

7

Richard Jefferson

34,293

7

George Hill

4,343

8

Mike Bibby

33,962

8

Danny Green

4,271

9

P.J. Brown

33,823

9

Bruce Bowen

4,191

10

Rod Strickland

33,634

10

Serge Ibaka

4,119

The dubious distinction of playing the most minutes without reaching the NBA All-Star Game belongs to guard Jason Terry, a guard for five teams from 2000 to '18. He is best known for his tenure with the Dallas Mavericks, with whom he finished in the top three of the Sixth Man of the Year voting every season from 2008 to '12. Guard Derek Fisher, a five-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, holds that distinction in the playoffs.

Other notable names on the lists include seven-time NBA champion forward Robert Horry, 2002 assist champion guard Andre Miller, and forward Sam Perkins—a stalwart for four teams from 1985 to 2001 and the only player on both lists.

Which NBA players have scored the most regular-season and playoff points without making the All-Star Game?

RANK

PLAYER

REGULAR-SEASON POINTS

RANK

PLAYER

PLAYOFF POINTS

1

Jamal Crawford

19,419

1

Byron Scott

2,451

2

Eddie Johnson

19,202

2

Derek Fisher

2,146

3

Jason Terry

18,881

3

Robert Horry

1,939

4

Rudy Gay

17,642

4

Sam Perkins

1,861

5

Andre Miller

16,278

5

Jason Terry

1,750

6

Derek Harper

16,006

6

Serge Ibaka

1,608

7

Lou Williams

15,593

7

Tayshaun Prince

1,602

8

Sam Perkins

15,324

8

George Hill

1,592

9

Tobias Harris

15,192

9

Michael Cooper

1,581

10

Byron Scott

15,097

10

Don Nelson

1,557

A common theme here is the presence of great sixth men, and there may never have been a better one than guard Jamal Crawford—a three-time Sixth Man of the Year winner with the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers. The playoffs' leading scorer among non-All-Stars is three-time NBA champion guard Byron Scott, best known for his feats with the Lakers.

Other notables on these lists: forward and guard Eddie Johnson, the 1989 Sixth Man of the Year with the Phoenix Suns, forward Rudy Gay, a mainstay of the "Grint-N-Grind" Memphis Grizzlies, and top defensive 1980s-era guard Derek Harper.

Which NBA players have pulled down the most regular-season and playoff rebounds without making the All-Star Game?

RANK

PLAYER

REGULAR-SEASON REBOUNDS

RANK

PLAYER

PLAYOFF REBOUNDS

1

Marcus Camby

9,513

1

Robert Horry

1,361

2

Leroy Ellis

8,709

2

Caldwell Jones

999

3

Michael Cage

8,646

3

Serge Ibaka

965

4

Jonas Valanciunas

8,473

4

Lamar Odom

955

5

P.J. Brown

8,409

5

Sam Perkins

936

Center and forward Marcus Camby is a frequent flyer on lists of best non-All-Stars, and with good reason: his individual accolades include four shot-blocking titles, four All-Defensive appearances, and 2007's Defensive Player of the Year award with the Denver Nuggets. Horry leads this category in postseason play.

Shout-outs are due to center and forward Leroy Ellis (a relatively unsung 1970s-era Laker), center Caldwell Jones (an ABA All-Star in 1975 with the San Diego Conquistadors), and center and forward Michael Cage (1988's rebounding champion with the Clippers).

Which NBA players have given out the most regular-season and playoff assists without making the All-Star Game?

RANK

PLAYER

REGULAR-SEASON ASSISTS

RANK

PLAYER

PLAYOFF ASSISTS

1

Andre Miller

8,524

1

Michael Cooper

703

2

Rod Strickland

7,987

2

Derek Fisher

598

3

Muggsy Bogues

6,726

3

Robert Horry

575

4

Derek Harper

6,577

4

Avery Johnson

562

5

John Lucas

6,454

5

Marcus Smart

524

The durable Miller ranks 12th all-time in assists period, though he never quite made enough of an impression to garner All-Star status. Defensive maven and ex-Lakers guard Michael Cooper, whose eight All-Defensive selections actually landed him in the Hall of Fame, paces all non-All-Stars in the playoffs in this category.

A few others worth mentioning: guard Rod Strickland, who oddly made the 1998 All-NBA team with the Washington Bullets without making the All-Star Game, guard Muggsy Bogues, renowned for his success despite his five-foot-three stature, and guard Avery Johnson, a champion in 1999 with the San Antonio Spurs.

Which NBA players have the most blocks, steals, free throws made and three-pointers without making the All-Star Game?

THE MOST...

IN THE REGULAR SEASON

IN THE PLAYOFFS

BLOCKS

Tree Rollins, 2,542

Serge Ibaka, 292

STEALS

Derek Harper, 1,957

Robert Horry, 276

FREE THROWS MADE

Corey Maggette, 4,605

Byron Scott, 449

THREE-POINTERS

Jason Terry, 2,282

Danny Green, 315

A few new names pop up on this miscellaneous list. Center Tree Rollins was essential to the Hawks' 1980s success, nearly winning Defensive Player of the Year in 1983. Center and forward Serge Ibaka was likewise an anchor for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the early 2010s, for whom he won a pair of shot-blocking titles (he later snagged a championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019).

Forward and guard Corey Maggette was often the best player on some bad Clippers teams, while guard Danny Green captured three NBA titles with three different teams.

The moral of this article: you could make a rock-solid All-Star team, ironically, out of players who never sniffed either conference's All-Star team.

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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .

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