The NBA officially announced the 2022 All-Star bench lineup, adding two new faces, namely Darius Garland and Fred VanVleet, of which Garland became the first All-Star in cavaliers history after the departure of LeBron James, and VanVleet's all-star selection as a lost draft is even more amazing. So, who else but VanVleet, the all-Star players in NBA history?
The 2022 All-Star Game 24-man roster has been released, with four players selected for the first time in their careers, namely Ja Morant and Andrew Wiggins, who were named to the starting lineup, and Garland and VanVleet, who were selected on the bench. Wiggins is the winner, Morant is the no.5 show, even Garland is the No. 5 pick, and it's not surprising that they were selected as all-star east, while Van Vlitt is just a missed draft.
VanVleet is the only NBA player to be selected for the All-Star Regular, and the last time he missed a Draft before that was an All-Star in 2006, when Ben Wallace came off the bench. As the loser of the 1996 NBA Draft, "Big Ben" participated in the All-Star Game four times in his NBA career, two of which were starting appearances. Still, as the 4-time best defensive player winner in NBA history, it's no surprise that Big Ben is in the All-Star Game.
Unlike Ben Wallace, who only played in the All-Star Game for the first time in his seventh season, Brad Miller, who also lost the draft, made his NBA all-Star game debut in his fifth season, when the 2003 All-Star Game, the last All-Star Game in Michael Jordan's NBA career. It is worth mentioning that Miller still participated in the All-Star Regular Game from the Pacers to the Kings the following season, and he did not receive any other honors except for 2 All-Star Games in his 14-year NBA career.
Before Ben Wallace and Brandon Miller, John Stax was also a lost Draft All-Star. Stax began his NBA career in 1988, averaging just 8.8 minutes in 36 regular season games in his rookie season, and did not get any opportunities to play in the NBA in the entire following season, but returned to the NBA a year later and returned to the NBA to usher in a turnaround, in the fifth season of his NBA career he handed over 19.0 points, 5.9 assists and 1.6 steals, and participated in the only All-Star game of his NBA career in 1994. It is worth mentioning that during his 13-year NBA career, Stax was named the Best Sixth Man in 1997 and was named to the All-Defensive Team in 1993.
Starks isn't the first all-Star in NBA history to lose the Draft, and Connell Hawkins is the record holder. Hawkins became famous in the ABA, he became the ABA's leading scorer and MVP in his rookie season, joined the NBA after 2 seasons with the ABA, and was named to the All-Star Team in the NBA rookie season, and it is not surprising that he played in the All-Star Game four times in his 7-year NBA career.
Prior to VanVleet, only four non-draft players in NBA history, Ben Wallace, Brad Miller, Stax and Hawkins, had played in the All-Star Game, and the top three of them were inspirational stories like Van Vleet. Who else do you think can replicate an inspirational story like Van Vliet's?