The Most Undeserving NBA All-Star Selections of All Time
James Donaldson? A.C. Green? Are you kidding me?
Image via Complex Original
The NBA All-Star Game has never been without controversy, particularly when it comes to what players are selected. It’s actually kind of amusing to think about the amount of time spent hemming and hawing over who made it and who didn’t, compared with how long the game actually lasts and its complete lack of importance. The 2014 All-Star game is no different, with people like Joe Johnson and Paul Millsap controversially getting in while standouts like Kyle Lowry and Lance Stephenson will be forced to watch the game from home.
It’s really the enduring legacy of the All-Star game. Guys who have no right being there somehow make the team, and others make it more as a career achievement award rather than as a reflection of their on-court performance. The fan voting certainly can explain many of the surprising selections of players like Yao Ming and Shaquille O’Neal, but coaches don’t escape blame either. How else can we explain Kevin Duckworth and James Donaldson?
While the actual game is of no consequence, it’s certainly worth looking at the guys who are given the honor of being selected to participate. Rather than celebrating those who earned it, let’s take a look at the Most Undeserving NBA All-Star Selections of All Time.
RELATED: The Declining Stars of the NBA
15. Dale Davis
Season: 1999-2000
Team: Indiana Pacers
Stats at All-Star break: 48 G, 11.2 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.6 SPG, 1.4 BPG
There was nothing particularly good or bad about Dale Davis' 1999-2000 season. He stayed right on his typical averages, posting a 10-10 and playing solid defense for a very good Pacers team that would eventually reach the NBA Finals. So what made him an All-Star in this particular year? Beats us. Maybe the NBA felt that since the Pacers were so good, they needed to have an All-Star besides Reggie Miller? Whatever the reason, it would be the only selection of Davis' career, so hopefully he enjoyed his experience.
14. Joe Barry Carroll
Season: 1986-87
Team: Golden State Warriors
Stats at All-Star break: 49 G, 20.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.5 BPG
Joe Barry Carroll (or "Joe Barely Cares") got his career off to a promising start, but we're willing to bet even despite this All-Star selection, the Celtics are pretty happy they ended up with Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish instead (the Warriors drafted Carroll with a pick Boston sent in exchange for Parrish). Carroll was actually a solid scorer when he could stay on the floor, but his .472 shooting percentage that season was on the low end for a big man, and he did not grab nearly as many rebounds as a forward playing 30-plus minutes a game should. Can you say "soft"?
13. Isiah Thomas
Season: 1992-93
Team: Detroit Pistons
Stats at All-Star break: 47 G, 16.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 8.9 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.3 BPG
Isiah Thomas' selection in 1993 was another one of the classic "lifetime achievement awards" handed out by fans to players at or near the end of the line. Thomas was still a good player, but his performance had dipped and it was clearly time for a younger generation of players to step in and fill his shoes. Fans can be fickle, though, and Zeke earned the starting nod as he registered eight points and four assists in 32 minutes of the East's 135-132 overtime loss.
12. Jamaal Magloire
Season: 2003-04
Team: New Orleans Hornets
Stats at All-Star break: 52 G, 12.1 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.6 SPG, 1.3 BPG
Jamaal Magloire was certainly an odd selection to join the Eastern Conference All-Stars, given that he was never an especially good player. He, perhaps more than anyone else, benefited from the dearth of capable big men in the East. While the West was trotting out Hall of Famers like Shaq, KG, and Duncan, the East could merely counter with decent-enough guys like Ben Wallace and Jermaine O'Neal. Magloire stepped into this void, and while it may have been absurd that he was selected in the first place, he actually ended up playing really well as he led the East with 19 points and eight rebounds.
11. B.J. Armstrong
Season: 1993-94
Team: Chicago Bulls
Stats at All-Star break: 47 G, 15.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG
Almost everyone loved the Chicago Bulls in the mid-90s, and when Michael Jordan retired there was a definite void left in the All-Star department. Enter B.J. Armstrong, who in the absence of MJ set career highs in pretty much every offensive category during the 1993-94 season. Those stats certainly weren't dominant, though, and Armstrong's selection to the team was surprising given that a rising star like Penny Hardaway was forced to watch from home as a result. Not surprisingly, it would be Armstrong's only All-Star selection.
10. A.C. Green
Season: 1989-90
Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Stats at All-Star break: 46 G, 13.3 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.8 BPG
The 1990 All-Star game was, fittingly, virgin territory for A.C. Green, who had never come close to reaching this level of recognition in his first four years in the league. As a defensive stopper for the Showtime Lakers, Green was voted into the starting lineup by the fans who felt it was the power forward's turn to get lucky and play in the game's midseason showcase despite his being way less flashy than his teammates. Green did next to nothing in his team-low 12 minutes of action, missing all three shots and hardly banging on the boards at all, only grabbing three all night.
9. Vlade Divac
Season: 2000-01
Team: Sacramento Kings
Stats at All-Star break: 46 G, 10.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.0 BPG
Vlade Divac is more than just king of the floppers; he's a former All-Star! Shocking, we know. In 2001, Vlade got a sort of "lifetime achievement award" when he was named to his first All-Star team in his 12th season, a rare honor to snag so late in his career. He was actually named to the team over Kevin Garnett, who nevertheless got into Western Conference lineup thanks to an injury to starting center Shaquille O'Neal.
8. Tyrone Hill
Season: 1994-95
Team: Cleveland Cavaliers
Stats at All-Star break: 44 G, 13.6 PPG, 11.4 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.6 BPG
1995 was a confusing time in the Eastern Conference. Michael Jordan wasn't quite back yet, and teams were vying to step up and replace the Bulls as the East's dominant team. Tyrone Hill and his Cavaliers weren't really one of the contenders, though, and yet Hill somehow found himself at the All-Star game alongside the likes of Shaq, Patrick Ewing, and Alonzo Mourning. It was an extremely odd selection given that each member of the aforementioned trio was a center, as was Hill. That's probably why the Cavs' big man only played six minutes and took just one shot all game.
7. Kevin Duckworth
Season: 1990-91
Team: Portland Trailblazers
Stats at All-Star break: 47 G, 16.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.3 BPG
Kevin Duckworth was not supposed to be an All-Star, and it probably should have stayed that way. Just before the break, though, Hakeem Olajuwon caught a nasty elbow to the eye from Bill Cartwright that broke several bones around his eye and caused him to miss the game. Enter Duckworth, whose Trail Blazers squad was 39-9 and on their way to the Western Conference Finals behind a tremendous season from Clyde Drexler. Since Duckworth happened to be a competent player on a great team, he got the nod by default.
6. Shaquille O'Neal
Season: 2006-07
Team: Miami Heat
Stats at All-Star break: 13 G, 13.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.3 SPG, 1.8 BPG
Shaquille O'Neal is another superstar who benefitted from the fans' unapologetic admiration for his past accomplishments. After winning the title the year before, the Heat spent 2006-07 plagued by injuries to both Shaq and Dwyane Wade, but that did not stop O'Neal from being chosen to play in the All-Star game despite missing 35 games after having surgery on his knee in November. While maybe it wasn't his best choice, Shaq elected to play in the game, put up decent enough numbers, and managed not to hurt himself. Mission accomplished.
5. Allen Iverson
Season: 2009-10
Team: Philadelphia 76ers
Stats at All-Star break: 25 G, 14.4 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 4.2 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG
There may be no player 20 to 35-year-old NBA fans blindly love more than Allen Iverson. A.I. will always be one of the signature players of his generation, a tenacious combo guard who overcame a huge size disadvantage to become one of the NBA's premier talents. But this version of Allen Iverson was not what we'd call "talented." This version was really just a broken down ball hog who had fallen out of favor in Denver, Detroit, and Memphis, returning to Philly because that was one of the few places that would have him.
His selection by the fans was an obvious nod to his past accomplishments rather than his present performance, although he ended up missing the game to be with his ailing daughter.
4. James Donaldson
Season: 1987-88
Team: Dallas Mavericks
Stats at All-Star break: 43 G, 7.1 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.4 SPG, 1.1 BPG
No, we aren't totally sure who James Donaldson is, either. As an injury replacement, he was obviously not anybody's first choice to participate in the game. It didn't help his cause, either, that even as a center playing over 30 minutes a game he did not average double-digit rebounds. But that didn't stop the West's coaching staff from bringing him on board, and Donaldson responded by doing exactly what he should have: not attempting a single shot from the field all game.
3. Kobe Bryant
Season: 2013-14
Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Stats at All-Star break: 6 G, 13.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 6.3 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG
We can't say we were all that shocked when NBA fans voted Kobe Bryant as starter for the Western Conference in this year's All-Star game, and it's just the latest piece of ammunition in the argument that the format of the player selection should be revisited. Sure, Kobe's a great (albeit declining) player, but there's no logical way he can be seen as a viable All-Star this season. Kobe's got a lot to prove when he does come back from his knee injury, namely that he can play at a high enough level that next season he's worthy of consideration.
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Season: 1988-89
Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Stats at All-Star break: 39 G, 9.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.9 BPG
Yes, it's possible for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to be a bad All-Star choice. It was the last year of his incredible career, and it certainly seemed fitting that the Lakers' center be named to his record 19th All-Star team. But come on. Look at those numbers. He was a role player at best, still a starter but not playing starter's minutes by a long-shot. The Lakers didn't need him to carry the team (they had Magic Johnson and James Worthy for that), but it would've been nice for his All-Star candidacy if he had at least done something.
1. Yao Ming
Season: 2010-11
Team: Houston Rockets
Stats at All-Star break: 5 G, 10.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.0 SPG, 1.6 BPG
The fan voting process is stupid, but it doesn't seem like it's going away anytime soon. Fans are just going to have to deal with guys like Yao Ming being All-Stars in seasons where they are always hurt and don't even crack double-digit games before the break. Yao was certainly aided by his incredible popularity in China, where the huge voting numbers assured the massive center of a starting slot in the All-Star game every single year of his NBA career.