No. 1: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1977-78
Only LeBron James can hold a candle to the sustained excellence of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who made 19 All-Star Teams during his 20-year career. He finished third in MVP voting as a rookie, then won the award the next two seasons, finishing Top-5 for the league's top award in each of his first 12 seasons.
That included a fourth-place finish in 1977-78 when Abdul-Jabbar averaged 25.8 points, 12.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and three blocks per game. He was Second-Team All-NBA (behind MVP-winner Bill Walton at center) and likewise just behind Walton on the All-Defense Team. The insane reality of the season is that Kareem achieved all of that...and didn't make the All-Star Team.
The 1977-78 season is the ultimate proof case that All-Star teams should not only take into account the two months of games from that season. Especially in the case of injuries, penalizing an obvious All-Star for missing a few games early in the year looks incredibly misguided in hindsight, and none so much as the voters in 1977-78.
Abdul-Jabbar broke his hand in the first game of the season, getting into a fight with Kent Benson of the Milwaukee Bucks and breaking his right hand. He missed 20 games, but then returned and would not miss another game the rest of the season. It was the only time in 20 years he would miss the team, and as chronicled above he was sublime when he played. The night the All-Star rosters were announced, with Abdul-Jabbar not on them, he put up 39 points, 20 rebounds, six assists and four blocks.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the three best players in NBA history, a superstar at the height of his powers in 1977-78, but his broken hand cost him an All-Star berth and potentially another MVP. It was a massive snub and ranks as the worst All-Star snub in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers.