11 Best NBA Players Never To Make an All-Star Game, Ranked

The selection of NBA All-Star rosters is always controversial. There are players who feel like they deserve a place, and others make it in on reputation over production. 

Through a mix of misfortune and questionable All-Star picks, there are some truly great players who have never featured in the midseason showpiece. 

11 Best NBA Players Never To Make an All-Star Game, Ranked

Who Are the Greatest Players to Never Make the NBA All-Star Game?

1. Jamal Murray

Jamal Murray has been integral to the Denver Nuggets being among the NBA betting favourites for the title in recent years. His tendency to start slowly and some ill-timed injuries have prevented him from earning an All-Star selection, despite impressive production. 

2. Cedric Maxwell

Playing with a string of all-time great players meant Cedric Maxwell was overshadowed. Maxwell, however, was an excellent forward who relentlessly attacked the basket. At his three-year peak, he ranked seventh in the NBA in VORP. 

3. Richard Jefferson

Richard Jefferson finished in the top 12 in win shares twice in his career. For a period in the 2000s, only a handful of superstar wings could match his combination of scoring, playmaking, and perimeter shooting.

4. OG Anunoby

A knock-down three-point shooter and an elite defender, injuries and a relatively low usage rate have prevented OG Anunoby from earning an All-Star selection. The value provided through his defence and complementary offence is underrated. 

5. Ron Harper

In his first eight years in the NBA, Ron Harper was one of three players to average 19 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. 

The other two were Clyde Drexler and Michael Jordan. Jordan, Isiah Thomas, and Dominique Wilkins were blocking Harper’s path to an All-Star nod when he was in the Eastern Conference, and he was an afterthought as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers.

6. Sam Perkins

Spending the majority of his career as a third option, Sam Perkins was no more than an afterthought when it came to All-Star consideration. 

He was mightily effective in his role, though, and provided value at both ends of the floor. 

7. Toni Kukoč

Spending his peak years with the dynastic Chicago Bulls, Toni Kukoč had to settle for being a Sixth Man of the Year favourite in the basketball betting markets instead of competing for an All-Star selection. 

The Croatian certainly had the talent to be an All-Star, as he exhibited by finishing 20th in offensive box plus-minus in 1998-99. 

8. Jason Terry

Jason Terry has played the most regular-season minutes in NBA history without making an All-Star team. Terry won Sixth Man of the Year as a Dallas Maverick, but could have easily been an All-Star earlier in his career. 

9. Serge Ibaka

With three top-four Defensive Player of the Year finishes, Serge Ibaka started as a rim-protecting four and transformed into a stretch big in the second half of his career. He might have earned an All-Star berth if he wasn’t overshadowed by bigger names in Oklahoma City and Toronto. 

10. Mike Bibby

Mike Bibby ran the offence for those iconic Sacramento Kings teams of the early 2000s. A talented scorer and playmaker, Bibby was also an active defender, averaging 1.4 steals per game between 1999 and 2005. 

11. CJ McCollum

Between 2015-16 and 2021-22, CJ McCollum averaged 21.9 points per game while shooting just shy of 40% from beyond the arc and dishing four assists per game. 

He would’ve been a multi-time All-Star in the Eastern Conference, but he was blocked by a string of stars in the West, including his longtime backcourt mate Damian Lillard.