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The 6 greatest NBA players to never make an All-Star Team

By Elaine Blum

May 3, 1994; Portland, OR, USA: FILE PHOTO; Houston Rockets guard Kenny Smith (30) defends a shot by Portland Trail Blazers guard Rod Strickland (1) in the 1993-94 NBA Playoffs at Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports
May 3, 1994; Portland, OR, USA: FILE PHOTO; Houston Rockets guard Kenny Smith (30) defends a shot by Portland Trail Blazers guard Rod Strickland (1) in the 1993-94 NBA Playoffs at Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 4, 2018; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Jamal Crawford (11) controls the ball against Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield (24) in the first half at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 4, 2018; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Jamal Crawford (11) controls the ball against Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield (24) in the first half at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Non-All-Star #5: Jamal Crawford

During his 20 seasons in the NBA, Jamal Crawford distinguished himself as one of the best ball handlers of his time and won three Sixth Man of the Year awards, which is the league record that he shares with Lou Williams. He averaged 14.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists for his career and certainly did not fail to meet expectations for a lottery pick after a slow start to his career with the Bulls. It wasn’t until his third NBA season that Crawford became a reliable contributor but after that, he consistently averaged more than 14 points until the backend of his career.

Some of his best seasons included his 2007-08 campaign with the Knicks when he averaged 20.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal over 80 games as a starter but also the three seasons that earned him his Sixth Man of the Year awards in 2009-10, 2013-14, and 2015-16. In the last season, he was already 36 years old, making him the oldest player to win the award.

In 2019, one season before he retired, Crawford became the oldest player to put up 50 or more points in a game and the first player to have 50+ point games with four different teams. Not only was that quite an accomplishment but also a nice way to round out his resume.

The one thing missing from it, other than a championship, of course, is an All-Star selection, which is crazy if you look at the numbers he put up, especially in the 2007-08 season.