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

The 25 best NBA players never to make an All-Star game — 1. Marcus Camby

Some of the greatest players in NBA history played just for a single franchise their entire career. Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, John Stockton, Dirk Nowitzki and Bill Russell all fit this bill. Stephen Curry looks poised to join that club. On the other end of the spectrum stands Marcus Camby, one of the greatest rim protectors in league history.

Throughout his journeyman career Camby was something of a “Blocks for Hire” mercenary. He changed teams seven times, starting and ending his career with the New York Knicks while otherwise touring the Western Conference.

Four separate times in his career Camby led the entire league in blocks per game, and he ranks 13th in career blocks and ninth in block percentage. He ranks second only to the great Dikembe Mutombo in blocks with the Denver Nuggets, with whom he spent six of his 17 seasons.

Camby was not much of an offensive player. His bag of tricks almost exclusively resided on the defensive side of the ball. He also wasn’t simply an empty-calories blocker; Camby gobbled up rebounds at a tremendous rate, and he led the entire league in defensive plus/minus three times in his career as well.

In addition to being a four-time block champion, Camby made four All Defense teams. In 2006-07 he was named the Defensive Player of the Year for his work with the Nuggets. Among all players never named to an All-Star roster, Camby ranks first in defensive win shares, blocks (total and per-game) and rebounds.

Closest Call: The 2006-07 season was probably Camby’s best, as he averaged a wild 3.3 blocks per game to go along with 11.2 points and 11.7 rebounds. At the end of the year, he was crowned Defensive Player of the Year. Camby was foiled by the big man depth in the Western Conference, where he played the majority of his prime. He should have made the team over Josh Howard or Mehmet Okur, both named as injury replacements over Camby.