Hoops Habit
Fansided

NBA: The 25 best NBA players never to make an All-Star game

By Josh Cornelissen

DENVER - NOVEMBER 9: Marcus Camby #23 of the Denver Nuggets pumps his fist after a big play against the Sacramento Kings in the fourth quarter on November 9, 2005 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
DENVER - NOVEMBER 9: Marcus Camby #23 of the Denver Nuggets pumps his fist after a big play against the Sacramento Kings in the fourth quarter on November 9, 2005 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
21 of 25
Next
Derek Harper
Derek Harper Photo by: Mike Powell/Getty Images /

The 25 best NBA players never to make an All-Star game — 5. Derek Harper

The talent in the NBA is not perfectly dispersed at all times; rather, it ebbs and flows. Sometimes the league is flush with bigs; at other times, wings. During the 1990s, the league was a combination of elite big men and a few talented wing scorers. In the 2000s, it was power forwards packing the All-NBA teams. Back in the 1980s, the league had a glut of dynamic offensive point guards.

Magic Johnson is the poster child, and everyone likely knows Isiah Thomas. Terry Porter, John Stockton, Mo Cheeks and Doc Rivers were all running teams as well. Plying his trade alongside them was the two-way Derek Harper, who took pride in his effort on defense while directing the offense on the other end.

Harper played the first 10 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, and for a five-year stretch averaged at least 16 points and seven assists per game. The Mavericks could never find reliable frontcourt help, but they still made the postseason in six of his ten seasons with them. In 1993 he joined the New York Knicks and was a part of some beloved, hard-nosed teams that got close to a title.

No player in league history has more career steals without an All-Star appearance than Harper, whose total of 1,957 ranks 16th all-time. His Dallas teams were perennially overshadowed by the more talented Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns. If his team could have pushed through in the postseason, he may have earned the respect needed to get an All-Star nod the following year.

Closest Call: In the 1989-90 season, Harper finished third among all Western Conference guards in fan voting, just behind Johnson and Stockton. He would finish the season on the All-Defensive team, all while averaging 18.0 points, 7.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Yet somehow he missed the final cut, with his offensively-minded backcourt partner Rolando Blackman named to the team over him.
That season, Harper had a +8.0 net rating, while Blackman was a net zero. Blackman’s Box Plus-Minus was just positive at 0.9; Harper graded out at 4.7, a top-15 mark in the league. Harper shot better, defended better and passed better. The reason Blackman was chosen above him? He scored 19.4 points per game to Harper’s 18.