The 8 greatest Golden State Warriors to never make an All-Star Team
At its heart, success in the NBA is all about the accolades. There is value in being a solid, dependable player who fills his lane -- there is certainly a financial benefit to carving out a long career -- but the biggest contracts bring the most money, the most fame, and chisel your name into history. And those stars are what truly drive championships.
As the NBA concludes the first "half" of its season and the All-Star Break begins, it provides an opportunity to look back at the history of the game. Hundreds of players have participated in the All-Star Game over the years, including a number of Warriors: names like Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin, Rick Barry and Nate Thurmond. Other players have achieved the honor while playing for another team, such as Andre Iguodala or Chris Paul.
A number of players wearing the blue and gold have not made it, however. Not necessarily because they were "snubs" but because only 12 players from the Western Conference make it each year; that's a high bar to clear.
Who have been the best players in Golden State Warriors history to never make an All-Star Game? Let's walk through these eight valuable players who never quite reached the heights of stardom required to punch a ticket to All-Star Weekend.
No. 8: Larry Smith
You can probably intuit two things about a player whose nickname was "Mr. Mean" during his career. First, he is probably an absolutely nasty defender. Secondly, his game likely doesn't lend itself to making All-Star Teams.
Larry Smith was drafted 24th overall by the Warriors in 1980, and he would play the first nine seasons of his career for the Warriors. He was an elite rebounder and fantastic defender, but the most points he ever averaged in a season was 11.1.
The Warriors were downright bad early in Smith's career but he played a large role on the 1986-87 team that won 42 games and knocked off the Utah Jazz before losing in 5 games to the Showtime Lakers; he led the league in rebounding during those playoffs.
Smith was a key part of an entire decade of Warriors basketball, but he was never a player of the archetype to make an All-Star Game.