Playoff Blues: The NBA’s top five players to have never made a playoff appearance

The NBA would be a whole different world if legacies and greatness was measured on the performance of the regular season alone. Unfortunately for some – it isn’t. The regular season is just heating up the oven and aligning of the positions, the real fun and games begin with the playoffs. Which is why no amount of All Star appearances or big stats can be a substitute for a role in a post-season game.

Here are NBA’s five best players at this very moment who – despite their talent and achievements – have yet to qualify for the playoffs. Some of them may make their debut this season; others might have to wait a lot longer.

Only those who have been in the league for at least two seasons count, so rookies are out of the question obviously, and so far last year’s standout newcomers like Damian Lillard and Anthony Davis.

5. DeMar DeRozan

DeMar DeRozan

Ever since breaking into Toronto’s starting rotation after his rookie season, DeRozan has been a consistent performer, scoring over 17 points per game the last three seasons and enjoying a career-best year this season with 21.8 ppg. Alas, the swingman has played in poor teams his first four years as the Raptors currently find themselves in a five and a half year playoff drought. Luckily for DeRozan, the future looks better than the past. Toronto finally has a winning record with him as their leading scorer and could even secure home court advantage in the weak East. Because of their unexpected team success, there is even a possibility that DeRozan or teammate Kyle Lowry make their first All Star appearance when the reserves are announced later this week.

4. DeMarcus Cousins

DeMarcus Cousins

Oscillating between spurts of exciting potential and moments of immaturity and disappointment, Cousins is one of the biggest enigmas in the league. But in his fourth season in the league, the Kings’ Center is enjoying his best year so far. Cousins is averaging a career high in points (22.6 ppg) and rebounds (11.6 rpg) as well as boasting of NBA’s highest usage rate. He is a bonafide star talent, but the Kings’ lowly record is likely to keep him from making his first All Star appearance. Those big numbers might have to wait a while longer for the big stage, since the Kings are headed to missing the playoffs for the eighth-straight season. In a league devoid of genuine offensive Centers, ‘Boogie’ Cousins is bound to be one of the best at his position. But his talents will go wasted unless the team can mature and improve together to rise up the West in the next few years.

3. John Wall

John Wall

Wall was Cousins’ college teammate in Kentucky and was drafted first in the same year (2010) to the Wizards. The uber-athletic, lightning-quick point guard came into the league with high expectations, but a few growing pains and injury struggles kept his stock relatively low. Wall put up big scoring and assists numbers in struggling teams for his first three years. Finally, it seems that a combination of Wall’s own improvement, better surrounding cast, and a shortage of other talent in the East might see him carry the Washington to their first playoff appearance since 2008 this year. With injuries hounding the league, Wall has perhaps been the best point guard in the East this season, averaging career-highs in scoring (20 ppg) and assists (8.5 apg). He has also drastically improved his awful three-point shot, and is finally living up to his number-one pick potential. This year, he will most likely become an All Star for the first time in his career.

2. Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving

At still only 21, Kyrie Irving is the youngest player on this list, and has spent the shortest time in the league. But expectations are high for the Cavaliers’ point guard, who was the number one pick in 2011, won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2011-12, made the All Star team as a reserve in 2013, and has been voted in as a starter in 2014. For two and a half seasons, Irving has averaged over 20 points per game and made a name for himself as one of the game’s most exciting and clutch performers. Unfortunately, the losses have piled up quick for Irving, as he has only one about one-third of the NBA games he’s played in since he joined the league. Adding Luol Deng and the development of Dion Waiters and Tristan Thomas might help, but for now, it seems that Irving is destined for yet another year as a star without the playoff stripes.

1. Kevin Love

Kevin Love

Time may be running out for Love to prove himself in Minnesota, and if the team misses the playoffs again this season, look for the league’s biggest star without a second of playoff basketball under his belt to bolt out to greener pastures very soon. Statistically, Love is an enigma. With the exception of his injury-riddled 2012-13 season, Love has been a mainstay in the league’s top points and rebounds standings for the past for over three years now, and continuing that form to be a top five scorer and rebounder this season, too. Additionally, he is also a deadly outside shooter and is top 10 in the league in three-pointers made this season. Last week, Love was voted as a starter for the first time and is set to make his third All Star appearance. He’s been a rebounding champion, a Most-Improved Player, and even made it to the All NBA Second Team. But one thing he isn’t yet is a winner. Love has missed the playoffs the first five years of his career and the Timberwolves again stand on the outside looking in this season. On many nights, Love is the best power-forward in the league, but unless he can carry the Timberwolves to the post-season, he may never be able to shed the tag of a great player in bad teams.