The 25 best NBA players never to make an All-Star game — 4. Sam Perkins
We have already covered one member of the late-1980s Dallas Mavericks, and we go back to the well with big man Sam Perkins. First starring at the University of North Carolina alongside Michael Jordan, Perkins was drafted fourth overall in the 1984 NBA Draft. He played six seasons in Dallas and two with the Los Angeles Lakers before joining the Seattle SuperSonics and becoming a key part of their postseason success throughout the heart of the 90s.
Perkins’ place on this list is less due to his peak, and more due to his longevity. He logged 82 games his rookie season and amassed 5.8 win shares, and then never brought in fewer than 6.4 for the next 12 seasons. He had a 17 year career that took him to within a few weeks of his 40th birthday. He began as an inside scorer who grew his offensive portfolio to finally become something of a stretch-big later in his career.
Perkins was no empty calories player, either. His teams made the postseason in 15 of his 17 seasons, and he reached the NBA Finals three times with three different teams. His career highlight moment was hitting a game-winning buzzer-beating 3-pointer for the Lakers in Game 1 of the 1991 NBA Finals.
Over the course of his 17 seasons, Perkins accumulated 105.4 win shares, the most ever by a player never named to an All-Star game. He ranks 77th among all players all-time in career win shares; only three players in the top 100 in that statistic never made an All-Star appearance.
Closest Call: Following the retirement of Magic Johnson, Perkins stepped up in his absence and averaged a career-best 16.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, behind only an off-injured James Worthy on the team in scoring. He was the Lakers’ best player that season and should have made it over Worthy — and especially over Magic, who didn’t even play a minute that season.