NBA / Elite Sport TV (DR)
It’s not easy to be a consistent All-Star, let alone be voted in every season of your career. In fact, only five NBA athletes have achieved this in history…and Michael Jordan isn’t one of them, nor is LeBron James.
Today, the All-Star Game no longer has much sporting interest, the defense being generally absent and the focus more on the show. Nevertheless, it remains a great honor to be selected for the All-Star Game. Some players even receive bonuses on their contracts thanks to this, enough to push them to give everything. However, it is not easy to be selected several years in a row, because you have to be very strong over a long period.
Among the huge crowd of players that the big league has known, there are, however, a few who have pushed the limits of the imaginable. It’s simple, they have never experienced a campaign without participating in the ASG, period. Quite a feat! A user on Reddit conducted his investigation on the subject, discovering that they were in fact only five to have succeeded. Interestingly enough, some names are not the best known when we are talking about legends of the game:
The Amazing Club of All-Star Game Champions
Only 5 players in NBA history have been All-Stars every year they played: Paul Arizin, Bob Pettit, Jerry West, Julius Erving and Yao Ming. Dr. J holds the record for the longest career streak among them, having been selected to the All-Stars every season while playing for 16 seasons between 1971 and 1987.
Jerry West played for 14 seasons from 1960 to 1974, Bob Pettit played for 11 seasons from 1954 to 1965, and Paul Arizin played for 10 seasons from 1950 to 1962 (with a 2-year hiatus due to the Korean War). Yao Ming only played 8 seasons and was capped 8 times. During his last year, he only played 5 games but was still selected thanks to the vote of the supporters.
No Michael Jordan, not even LeBron James therefore in this very closed club. The opportunity to remember these players sometimes misunderstood because of the era during which they played, but who nevertheless marked their discipline. Pettit, for example, was the first MVP in history, and one of the few to beat the late Bill Russell’s Celtics in the Finals. As for Arizin, this is a legend of the Warriors, then based in Philadelphia. He was notably the offensive partner n°1 of a certain Wilt Chamberlain, just that.
Incidentally, we note the importance of the fan vote in the case of Yao Ming, whose popularity and fame have been boosted in particular by the support of the Chinese public. Which also explains why he was named All-Star in his last season, when he was ravaged by foot injuries. Nevertheless, he succeeded, which several stars of the moment cannot say for themselves, like Luka Doncic and LaMelo Ball for example who were nevertheless retained as a sophomore.
Successfully becoming All-Star as a rookie is proof that you have made an immediate impact in the league. Not only did these five players validate this box, but they were generally able to maintain this level of excellence until the end. It commands respect.