All Star Odds – Longer Than You’d Think

We answer these things on the fly and my first thought was, “Man, the odds are really stacked against him.” I did some quick math, and multiplied 12 players per team by 30 teams and said that when only 24 guys out of 360 in the league are selected each year, you realize how special the honor is. George corrected me in our next break, saying that there are actually 15 per roster, or 450 players in the league. That means that barely one in 20 will wear the uniform of his conference in any particular All-Star game.

In Pistons history, 335 players have worn the uniform. Of those 335, only 24 have ever represented the team in the All-Star game. That translates to barely 7%. Now you know why the top players take these opportunities so seriously. To make it once is a great honor. But to be considered an all-time great, you have to make multiple appearances.

It seems to me that the career validation of being selected may have even greater significance than the experience of playing. After all, the game is an exhibition, a showcase, and two days later no one remembers who won the game. What remains are mental snapshots, like Bob Lanier proudly representing the Pistons in the 1979 game at the Silverdome or Isiah Thomas holding aloft his first MVP trophy in 1984.

Here are a few Pistons All-Star curiosities:

Four Pistons getting named last year was a first, but three were named seven other times. Isiah, Joe Dumars and Dennis Rodman were each named in ’90 and ’92. Isiah was also part of a threesome in ’84 along with Bill Laimbeer and Kelly Tripucka. And in the Pistons first four year in Detroit, three were named each year, beginning with the trio of George Yardley, Gene Shue and Dick McGuire in both ’58 and ’59.

Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton made it for a second time this year, knowing full well that to even be considered as a Hall of Famer one day, they’ll still need four or five more appearances. One-timers rarely go down in history as anything more than just a very good player.

Here are the one-time Pistons: Chuck Noble, Terry Dischinger, Eddie Miles, Jimmy Walker and Curtis Rowe. Two-timers were: Don Ohl, Tripucka, Jerry Stackhouse and Rodman. Rodman was a unique player, but not a Hall of Famer.

Seven former Pistons are in the Hall of Fame and two more, Ben Wallace and Grant Hill are still active and may someday make it. As you can see, you better be a multiple All-Star to have a shot:

As for becoming an All-Star even once, it’s all in good time. After all, it took Rip until his seventh season to make it and Chauncey needed nine years to make his first. So, I’ll let you answer the Jason Maxiell question about Jason’s chances yourself.

As for young Maxy, I’ll guarantee that making an All-Star team is way off his radar, and that his next goal is to keep improving and someday make the starting lineup.

That alone is a major accomplishment in the best basketball league in the world.