Los Angeles Lakers: The five best players that were never all-stars

The Los Angeles Lakers have had plenty of superstars suit up in the purple and gold in the franchise’s long, prestigious history. From the likes of Magic Johnson to Kobe Bryant to Jerry West to Shaquille O’Neal to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Wilt Chamberlain, the list goes on and on of superstars that have been Lakers.

For every superstar on every title-winning dynasty for the Lakers, there were just as many supporting stars that served as the necessary pieces to the championship puzzle. Some of those supporting stars earned all-star nods for their services, such as Pau Gasol, but others did not get the same treatment.

Some of the best players in franchise history were never named an all-star for their efforts.

Here are the five best Los Angeles Lakers players ever that were never named all-stars:

5. Happy Hairston

Happy Hairston was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1969-1970 season and he finished out the rest of his career in LA, playing another five season with the Lakers.

Hairston was an important role player for the 1971-1972 team that won the NBA Championship and was the only team to give Jerry West a title in his nine NBA Finals appearances. Hairston averaged 13.1 points and 13.1 rebounds that season and averaged 13.5 points and 13.1 rebounds in the playoffs that year.

Hairston was essentially a lock for a double-double every single night and ended up averaging over 15 points and a dozen rebounds per game across his Laker career. In historical perspective, Hairston ranks 20th all-time in franchise history in total win shares with 44.6.