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

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Richard Jefferson Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images /

The 25 best NBA players never to make an All-Star game — 18. Richard Jefferson

Younger fans of the NBA may remember Richard Jefferson as the sage veteran presence who joined LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers and helped bring a title to Ohio. Years beforehand, Jefferson was an All-Star candidate on the New Jersey Nets, a team that made the playoffs six-straight years from 2001-02 to 2006-07.

After slowly carving out a role as a rookie in 2001-02, Jefferson made the leap in his sophomore season, showing his scoring ability as a traditional small forward. In that second season, he started every game in the postseason for a Nets team that made the NBA Finals in 2003.

Later in his career, Jefferson joined the San Antonio Spurs, the team that beat the Nets in ’03, and filled the role of two-way wing before the team drafted Kawhi Leonard. In the 2015-16 season, he teamed up with the aforementioned LeBron James and was a key locker room voice on back-to-back NBA Finals teams. He often played crunch time minutes for the Cavaliers team that upset the 73-win Golden State Warriors in 2016.

Closest Call: The 2005-06 Nets were a strong playoff team, winning their division and making it to the second round of the playoffs. Jefferson led the team in win shares as he teamed with Vince Carter and Jason Kidd. The Detroit Pistons dominated the game with four All-Stars, squeezing out spots for players such as Jefferson.