One of my favorite Memphis Grizzlies press pass moments occurred when I was able to briefly meet broadcaster Derek Harper and tell him face-to-face that his spirited and skilled play in the NBA playoffs during the summer of 1994 was one of my favorite fandom moments. Harper played well throughout that playoff for my beloved New York Knicks, and his stout defensive presence and key three point shooting were primary reasons the Knicks came within an eyelash of winning a championship.
Derek Harper is widely considered one of the best NBA players to never put on an All-Star jersey. After a successful college career at Illinois, Harper spent 10 plus seasons as a stud for the Dallas Mavericks (played 16 seasons overall). His prime seasons were played in a Mavs jersey, including his finest season of 1990-1991 when he was 29 years old. That year, Harp averaged 19.7 points and 7.1 assists per contest. Advanced stats (win shares, etc.) show Harper had better seasons, but for argument's sake, let's go with '90-'91.
The Western Conference All-Star team was loaded with point guards in the 1990-1991 season. Magic Johnson, John Stockton, Terry Porter, Kevin Johnson and Tim Hardaway were all on the squad. It's hard to argue with any of those guys, but a case can certainly be made that Harp was more deserving that Terry Porter (with all due respect to Porter). Essentially, Derek Harper was snubbed.
Fast forward to 2017, and Mike Conley is the new Derek Harper. Conley is the best current NBA player never to make an All-Star team. In 2016-2017, at age 29 just like Harp, he is having his best season - 20.6 points per game and 6.8 assists per contest. Stats only tell part of the story about Conley; he is the on court conductor and leader for a battle tested perennially playoff bound Grizzlies team. The Grizz are represented by a very deserving Marc Gasol on this year's Western Conference All-Star team, but Conley deserved to be there too. I believe Conley is more deserving than Draymond Green and Gordon Hayward, both of whom made the squad. Will Conley break his overdue All-Star drought next season? I sure hope so. Until then, he's in snubbed status, just like Harper.
It's eerie how similar Conley's ASG plight is with that of Harper. Both were/are under appreciated point guards that spent the bulk of their career in small markets (by NBA standards). The Mavs are much more high profile now thanks to Cuban and Dirk, but that wasn't the case back when Harp and Ro Blackman were leading the team down in Dallas. Regardless of ASG status, both Harp and Conley are two of my favorite floor generals in league history.
