Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Friday, there are 18 days remaining.Most current players don't last as long as the stars of the 1970s and 80s did. As the game becomes faster and stronger, players who reach their 30s have a tougher time keeping up (with some obvious exceptions). Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had no such problem.
KAJ was selected for all but one NBA All-Star Game between 1970 and 1989, and he played in an NBA record 18 of them. By my count, there's only two current stars who can catch him.
... and one of them is not Shaquille O'Neal, who sits second all-time in All-Star Game selections at 15. But Shaq has missed three ASGs due to injury, so he has only played in 12. I don't think O'Neal has six more All-Star appearances in him, especially considering that he barely made it in the center-light Western Conference last year and missed the ASG completely in 2008.
But LeBron James has a shot at knocking Kareem off the top of this record (if not also the NBA points scored record). LeBron has been selected to and played in five All-Star Games already ... at age 24. Health is a tricky aspect to bet on, but something tells me LBJ can remain at an All-Star level for another 13 seasons, especially considering he's a perennial MVP candidate just entering his prime.
Dwyane Wade also has five ASGs, but he's two years older than LeBron and has a more worrisome injury history. Kobe Bryant, however, has played in 11 All-Star Games. Being a Laker and being popular all over the world will help in fan voting over the next decade, and while betting on Kobe getting into every ASG between now and 2016 seems like a reach, I'm not ready to claim Kobe won't be an excellent player at 37 years old. Few players work harder to keep themselves in great shape, and Bryant is such an excellent shooter that he should be a star for another few years. His reputation and name can carry him from there.
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One of the few achievements Wilt Chamberlain WASN`T in contention for. He played 14 seasons, sat out most of one of those with a knee injury. Then his owner went to court for a restraint of trade order which force him to retire. A shame. But the seeds of that shame were planted earlier. First to 20,000 points was Bob Pettit. No complaints there. But Wilt was 4 inches taller, and several more shades darker than Pettit. He became a sexual icon. He was bigger than the game. And he was HATED. Three times while he was a known athlete, the league expanded the three second lane, basically to force Wilt away from the basket. Mikan`s coach in college had complained the big red head, Dr. Bob Kurland, who went pro outside basketball, was allowed to goal tend, offensively. But that wasn`t banned until Wilt went pro with the Harlem GlobeTrotters in `58. Wilt`s own all star teammates and coaches, etc., became part of the problem. They bragged, as did Shaq`s one year, when they lost the game, as if they had won, because they held the Big Dipper`s scoring down. Wilt usually led the league in field goal percentage. There was NEVER a season in which he shouldn`t have shot MORE, not even when he averaged over 50 points a game! The NBA is marred by fads. You can see it in Kareem`s career stats. He faded for a few years, then resurged. And in Shaq`s stats, he faded to the point he was admitting he was a has been, and then resurged. People get bored with merely rewarding the best players, they want fresh new sensations. Wilt didn`t even manage to join Pettit, Alex Groza, at over 20 points each year, Jordan at 20, but not over, his final year. Wilt only scored over 13 points his final season. But he shot 72.7 % from the field! The judge, as when Rick Barry leapt to the Aba, should have granted an injunction letting the man WORK until the case was settle, then pay damages IF the decision went against him. The prior restraint was clearly illegal, deciding the case BEFORE it had been presented. Barry missed what would have probably been his most productive season ever. Chamberlain missed probably at least a half dozen seasons of work, and the Aba lost ITS chance to survive. Wilt should have been drafted straight out of high school, Auerbach at Boston wanted him, and didn`t have Russell yet. The Knicks, needed him, their all pro center was 6`6, and Wilt could have played in the Rucker, or with the Globbies, for the summer out of high school, to qualify as a New Yorker for the now defunct territorial draft. And of course, there were the Philly Warriors, Wilt eventually was drafted by, when his territorial rights should have gone to the Knicks, Harlem is in Manhattan, but apparently the Nba didn`t know the Globe Trotters existed, even though they had beaten Mikan`s Lakers before the Nba was integrated. Neither the Knicks nor the Warriors mentioned Wilt was a Globe Trotter. That is another decade of Abl or Nba accomplishments Wilt should have had. A shame. But I`m glad Wilt was able to win enough progress the same "owner" who had forced him to retire prematurely, allowed Kareem to compete 20 seasons. Kareem deserved it, and so did Wilt, and so does Shaq. I hope Shaq wins his 5th championship this year, whether LeBron gets credit for Shaq`s win or not. At least, if he`s healthy, Shaq will probably be an all star this year, whether he starts or not.