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NBA: 25 Least-Deserving NBA All-Stars

By Phil Watson

February 15, 2015; New York, NY, USA; General view of the opening tipoff as Eastern Conference forward Pau Gasol of the Chicago Bulls (16) and Western Conference center Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies (33) during the first quarter of the 2015 NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden.Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
February 15, 2015; New York, NY, USA; General view of the opening tipoff as Eastern Conference forward Pau Gasol of the Chicago Bulls (16) and Western Conference center Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies (33) during the first quarter of the 2015 NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden.Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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CHICAGO, IL – CIRCA 1976: Norm Van Lier #2 of the Chicago Bulls talks with head coach Ed Badger during a timeout against the Los Angeles Lakers during an NBA basketball game circa 1976 at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois. Van Lier played for the Bulls from 1971-78. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – CIRCA 1976: Norm Van Lier #2 of the Chicago Bulls talks with head coach Ed Badger during a timeout against the Los Angeles Lakers during an NBA basketball game circa 1976 at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois. Van Lier played for the Bulls from 1971-78. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

13. Norm Van Lier, 1976

How Chosen: Reserve

The Chicago Bulls spent the first part of the 1970s as one of the greatest NBA teams that almost was, falling short of the behemoths in Milwaukee and Los Angeles every year.

By 1975-76, the core of the team was breaking down, injuries ravaged the roster and the Bulls collapsed.

Chicago was 14-34 at the break and only in playoff contention because the rest of the Midwest Division was similarly awful.

It was out of that morass that the Western Conference coaches tabbed Bulls point guard Norm Van Lier for his second career All-Star Game appearance.

That was despite him averaging 14 points a game on sub-40 percent shooting.

He was chosen ahead of Phoenix Suns guard Paul Westphal, who was having a breakout season in his first year with the team and his first chance at regular minutes.

Westphal was averaging 18.9 points per game at the All-Star break for a Phoenix club that was struggling at the time to fit in a bunch of new parts. They would get their act together well, upsetting the defending champion Golden State Warriors en route to the franchise’s first NBA Finals bid.

Van Lier played 14 minutes in the West’s 123-109 loss at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, finishing with three points, a rebound, a steal and a blocked shot on 1-of-4 shooting.

He would make one more All-Star trip the following season, the same game in which Westphal made the first of his five trips to the NBA’s midseason showcase.

Next: Automatic By That Point