The NBA All-Star game has always been a spectacle for the fans. It’s an opportunity for the supporters to see the very best players in the league play against each other in a highly entertaining exhibition game.
This is the very reason why All-Star starters are dictated by fan votes. Unfortunately, the fans don’t always get it right, as more often than not, it becomes more of a popularity contest as opposed to the most deserving players actually getting the top votes. Below we have three of the most undeserving All-Star starters in the history of the NBA.
Kobe Bryant, 2014
There’s no doubt that Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant will go down in history as one of the greatest players to have ever graced the basketball court. His career is as decorated as they come, being a season MVP winner, a two-time scoring champion, a 15-time All-NBA team member, and of course, a five-time NBA champ, to name a few.
Bryant also made no less than 18 All-Star appearances in his career, and he also won the All-Star MVP award in four of them. However, his most contentious selection has got to be in 2014. Prior to the All-Star break, the 6-foot-6 shooting guard had played in a grand total of just six games due to a lingering knee issue. The fans obviously didn’t care, as they still piled on the votes despite Kobe himself saying that he did not deserve to be in the All-Star game. The cherry on top of the cake is that Bryant didn’t even play, and was replaced by James Harden in the starting lineup.
B.J. Armstrong, 1994
B.J. Armstrong was one of the more popular point guards in the 1990’s, and this was without a doubt thanks in large part to his Chicago Bulls teammate, the great Michael Jordan. Armstrong won three championships in Chicago playing alongside MJ. In 1994, however, Armstrong would be called-up to his one and only All-Star appearance, even getting enough votes to be a starter for the East.
The biggest factor in Armstrong’s selection was the fact that this was Jordan’s one-year hiatus. Bulls fan had to vote for someone else in lieu of MJ, and luckily for Armstrong, he was (apparently) Jordan’s heir apparent. That season, Armstrong averaged 14.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.0 steals — certainly not the All-Star numbers we have all grown accustomed to.
Yao Ming, 2011
When talking about popularity contests, there’s probably no better manifestation of the same as when Houston Rockets star big man Yao Ming was voted as an All-Star starter in 2011. The Kobe selection was bad, but it pales in comparison to this one, with Yao playing in just five games prior to the All-Star weekend. To make matters worse, it was abundantly clear that he had no chance of suiting up for the All-Star game because of his injury, but obviously, his millions of fans could not care any less.
Yao is undoubtedly one of the most dominant forces in his prime, but on this specific year, he had no business being in the All-Star game.
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