Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made his 18th All-Star game appearance in 1988.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 19:
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Let’s start with some shocking things: Despite his large number of All-Star Game appearances, Kareem never won the All-Star MVP award. That’s almost unfathomable, if only because he was, for quite some time, the most dominant player in the league and mathematically speaking, what are the odds of him going home empty-handed so many times? He also did not play in the 1973 game due to security concerns after seven murders took place at a property he owned in Washington that he donated to a Muslim group, and organizers feared an attack on the game by a radical group believed to be responsible for the tragedy. So Kareem stayed home. His best game was in 1984 when he collected 25 points and 13 rebounds.
Kobe Bryant, 18:
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Look back at Kobe Bryant’s biggest highlights from his 17 All-Star games.
No one will ever forget the changing of the guard in New York in 1998, when Kobe and Michael Jordan performed together for the first time. The hype was unreal and Kobe, who made his first All-Star start (the youngest ever at age 19), loved it. In 2003, Kobe led the West to a victory over the East in Jordan’s final All-Star Game. All in all, Kobe loved the All-Star Games, which gave him the opportunity to show himself as one of the best. He also took the games seriously, playing to win and playing to impress. Now the All-Star Game MVP award is named after him.
LeBron James, 18:
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Watch LeBron James’ first NBA All-Star game for all-access.
Strange but true: LeBron didn’t make the game as a rookie, as fans voted him fourth among the East Guards, after Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd and Tracy McGrady. Of course, he has been the overwhelming fan favorite and All-Star fixture ever since. He has been a starter every time and has been the voting leader nine times, and only Bryant and Bob Pettit have won the MVP more than three times. At age 21, he became the youngest MVP winner in history. He recorded a triple-double in 2011 and a career record of 36 in 2012.
Tim Duncan, 15:
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Tim Duncan wins co-MVP with Shaquille O’Neal at the 2000 NBA All-Star game in Oakland.
Duncan once said that he would “rather lie on a beach somewhere” rather than attend the All-Star Game. It’s not that he was disrespectful or ungrateful – it was just that Duncan was Duncan. He was never really drawn to the limelight, and he enjoyed the free time he spent with family and friends and … at the beach, where he was practically born and raised (Virgin Islands). Duncan has never played more than 18 minutes in his last four All-Star Games, clearly telling his coach that he would rather rest, hold out for the rest of the season and give his time to others. Besides, the All-Star format favors the flashy, and Duncan was anything but. His best play was 24 points in the 2000 game when he shared the MVP award with Shaquille O’Neal; he never cracked 20 again.
Kevin Garnett, 15:
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Follow Kevin Garnett to his first NBA All-Star Game in 1997.
He was the All-Star MVP in 2003 when he scored 37 points in double overtime, including the first seven points in second overtime to take the win. That happened to be Michael Jordan’s last All-Star Game, and coincidentally, KG’s point total was the highest in an All-Star Game since Jordan’s 40 in 1988.
Shaquille O’Neal, 15:
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The Open Court panel looks back at Shaquille O’Neal’s famous dance with the Jabbawockeez in 2009.
His most memorable appearance in an All-Star Game was not during the actual game, but the pregame: who could forget Shaq when he joined the famed mime group Jabbawockeez in 2009 and did an amazing dance sequence during the player introduction? It brought the house down. It was his last All-Star appearance, to boot. In 1993, he became the first rookie in eight years to make the All-Star team, eventually winning three MVPs, which he shared with Tim Duncan in 2000.
Michael Jordan, 14:
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Look back at Michael Jordan’s iconic performance in the 1988 Dunk Contest.
On the classic 1988 Chicago weekend of all places, Jordan reigned supreme, winning the dunk game by taking off just inside the free-throw line (the photo later became a popular poster), and winning MVP the next day by 40 points . The popular black and white commercials for “Mars Blackmon” featuring Spike Lee also aired that weekend. Jordan was a three-time MVP winner. On the other hand, there was the infamous “freeze-out” game in 1985 when Jordan, a rookie, was treated as one and took only nine shots, making two. He did not play in the 1986 game due to a broken foot. He recorded the first All-Star triple-double in 1997, scored just eight points in the 2002 game (a week before his 39th birthday), was famously serenaded by Mariah Carey wearing a custom Wizards dress in the game of 2004, and had a loss. overall record in All-Star Games.
Karl Malone, 14:
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Karl Malone (right) was a two-time All-Star Game MVP, sharing the honors with John Stockton in 1993.
The most fitting All-Star Game was 1993 in Salt Lake City, when Malone and John Stockton shared the MVP award, a first in All-Star history. Malone had 28 points while Stockton provided 15 assists and the West won in overtime. But it was one of two All-Star MVPs that Malone won when he won the award at the Astrodome in Houston four years earlier. That game set an attendance record at the time of 44,735 and Malone finished with 28 points and nine rebounds as the West prevailed.
Dirk Nowitzki, 14:
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Dirk Nowitzki is introduced for the 2019 All-Star Game.
In an unprecedented decision, Commissioner Adam Silver named Dirk — then 40 and in his final NBA season — as a special addition to the 2019 All-Star Game (Dwyane Wade also received the same treatment). This 14th appearance was a well-deserved round of victory for Dirk, who is considered the greatest foreign-born player in NBA history. Oddly enough, Dirk was never chosen as a starter by the fans, although he did serve as an injury replacement starter twice: in 2007 (for Yao Ming) and in 2010 (for Bryant). The 2010 All-Star Game was easily played at AT&T Stadium – the home of the Dallas Cowboys – in Arlington, Texas. That All-Star Game was historic because of the crowd, which was attended by 108,713.
Jerry West, 14:
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He was an All-Star every year of his career, a claim not many people (not even James) can make. In 1972, he not only helped the Lakers win a record 33 consecutive games and the NBA title, he also won the All-Star MVP, in a game held in Los Angeles. Also, West was one of the players who threatened to boycott the 1964 game unless the league agreed to recognize the players’ union. The players picked the right game because it was the first to be televised, and the owners gave in. If the game was cancelled, there’s a good chance the NBA wouldn’t get a national TV contract, which it didn’t have at the time.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for over 25 years. You can email him here, find his archive here and follow him Twitter†
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