NBA Stats: Most career points without an NBA All-Star Game appearance
(Jason Terry)
When players get a chance to play in the NBA, there are various outcomes they hope for: a long career, an NBA Championship, the Hall of Fame, an All-Star Game appearance (or more), enough money to not have to worry for the rest of their life. You get the point.
But let’s deal with one aspect what a player hopes for: To be considered an All-Star. We just saw the 2017 NBA All-Star Game played in New Orleans with several repeat performers like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant, and a few first-timers like Giannis Antetokounmpo. There are, however, NBA players who have had very successful NBA careers who never suited up for an NBA-Star Game. In fact, there are 15 players who have 14,000 or more career points in the league who have been played in the ASG. They are:
Eddie Johnson, 19,202
Jason Terry, 18,577
Jamal Crawford, 1,7770
Andre Miller, 16,278
Derek Harper, 16,006
Sam Perkins, 15,324
Byron Scott, 15,097
James Edwards, 14,862
Richard Jefferson, 14,702
Mike Bibby, 14,698
Jason Richardson, 14,644
Monta Ellis, 14,630
Purvis Short, 14,607
Rod Strickland, 14,463
Al Jefferson, 14,043
Of these 15, five are still active this season: Terry, Crawford, Richard Jefferson, Ellis, and Al Jefferson.
If we look at just career games played in the league, Jason Terry leads that category. Terry (through the 2017 All-Star break) has 1,332 career games in the NBA, 28 more than the player second on the list, Andre Miller.
Of the players who have never appeared in the NBA All-Star Game, Leroy Ellis has the most rebounds with 8,709; Miller has the most assists with 8,524; and Derek Harper tops this list of players with 1,957 steals.
Jason Terry is only 635 points behind Eddie Johnson for the top spot in this stat, but at age 39 (he turns 40 in September), his career may not see many more days after this campaign. On the other hand, Jamal Crawford, third on the list and a little over 1,400 points shy of the top spot, may have enough of a career left to challenge Eddie Johnson. Crawford turns 37 in March, but he is still a very productive player off the bench for the Clippers averaging over 12 points per game. He may have a realistic shot at surpassing Johnson.
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‘SIX STATS’ you might not know about… Anthony Mason
One of the NBA’s most under-rated players passed away on February 28, Anthony Mason. An all-star in 2001, Mason spent 13 years in the league with six different teams. He was 48.
A third-round draft choice out of Tennessee State, he is probably best known for his five years as a New York Knick.
Following are a few stats you may not know about Mason.
1. Mason is one of 20 NBA players who played more than 2,000 minutes in a season without starting a game in that year. Mason did it twice: 1991-92 and 1992-93. He is one of only four players to accomplish this feat multiple times (the others were Jamal Crawford and Dell Curry, three times each, and J.R. Smith, twice). Mason is one of only two players in NBA history to play over 2,100 minutes in a season without starting a game; Mason did it twice, Crawford three times.
2. In the first six years of his career, Mason started only 23 of the 337 he played (just under seven percent). In the final seven years of his career, Mason played 545 games, starting 536 of them (over 98 percent).
3. Mason was presented the NBA’s Sixth Man Award after the 1994-95 season. The following year he led the NBA in minutes played with 3,457 as a member of the New York Knicks. He started all 82 games that year for the Knicks.
4. J.R. Smith holds the NBA record for most minutes played in a season without starting a game with 2,678 in 2012-13. Mason is second on that list with 2,482 (he did that in 1992-93). Mason also has the eighth-most minutes in this category with 2,198 in 1991-92.
5. Mason’s career numbers include 9,656 points scored, 7,279 rebounds and 2,963 assists. He is one of 39 NBA players to have 9,000 points, 7,000 rebounds and 2,500 assists in a career. Of those 39, 19 are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
6. Mason played 882 games in his NBA career. He is one of only 14 NBA players to have 9,000 points, 7,000 rebounds and 2,500 assists in a career with less than 1,000 games played. Of the 14, nine are in the Hall of Fame. The other four not in the Hall: Pau Gasol (he will likely pass the 1,000-game mark in his career), Lamar Odom, Chris Webber and Bill Bridges.
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