Most All-Stars in a Playoff Series (1991-2011)
Posted by Neil Paine on May 4, 2011
This Heat-Celtics series is nothing if not a star-studded affair. A total of seven current All-Stars (Chris Bosh, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, & Rajon Rondo) and 2 more former All-Stars (Jermaine O'Neal & Zydrunas Ilgauskas) have drawn minutes in the series so far. But how do those totals stack up to other playoff series since 1991?
First, let's look at the series that featured the most current All-Stars:
| Year | Round | Round# | Winner/Leader | Loser/Trailer | W-L | Current AS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | ECS | 2 | MIA | BOS | 2-0 | 7 |
| 2011 | EC1 | 1 | BOS | NYK | 4-0 | 6 |
| 2008 | ECF | 3 | BOS | DET | 4-2 | 6 |
| 2006 | ECF | 3 | MIA | DET | 4-2 | 6 |
| 1998 | WCS | 2 | LAL | SEA | 4-1 | 6 |
| 1997 | WCS | 2 | HOU | SEA | 4-3 | 6 |
| 1994 | ECS | 2 | NYK | CHI | 4-3 | 6 |
| 2010 | FIN | 4 | LAL | BOS | 4-3 | 5 |
| 2009 | FIN | 4 | LAL | ORL | 4-1 | 5 |
| 2007 | WCS | 2 | SAS | PHO | 4-2 | 5 |
| 2006 | ECS | 2 | DET | CLE | 4-3 | 5 |
| 2005 | WCF | 3 | SAS | PHO | 4-1 | 5 |
| 1998 | WCF | 3 | UTA | LAL | 4-0 | 5 |
| 1997 | WC1 | 1 | HOU | MIN | 3-0 | 5 |
| 1997 | WCF | 3 | UTA | HOU | 4-2 | 5 |
| 1994 | EC1 | 1 | NYK | NJN | 3-1 | 5 |
| 1993 | ECS | 2 | CHI | CLE | 4-0 | 5 |
| 1991 | ECS | 2 | DET | BOS | 4-2 | 5 |
| 1991 | WCS | 2 | POR | UTA | 4-1 | 5 |
| 1991 | WCF | 3 | LAL | POR | 4-2 | 5 |
How about the greatest percentage of available minutes given to current All-Stars:
| Year | Round | Round# | Winner/Leader | Loser/Trailer | W-L | Current AS | Current AS Mp | Total Mp | Pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | ECS | 2 | MIA | BOS | 2-0 | 7 | 525.6 | 960.0 | 54.7% |
| 1997 | WCS | 2 | HOU | SEA | 4-3 | 6 | 1678.0 | 3410.0 | 49.2% |
| 2011 | EC1 | 1 | BOS | NYK | 4-0 | 6 | 907.9 | 1920.0 | 47.3% |
| 2006 | ECF | 3 | MIA | DET | 4-2 | 6 | 1359.2 | 2880.1 | 47.2% |
| 2008 | ECF | 3 | BOS | DET | 4-2 | 6 | 1349.2 | 2880.0 | 46.8% |
| 1994 | ECS | 2 | NYK | CHI | 4-3 | 6 | 1571.0 | 3360.0 | 46.8% |
| 2005 | WCF | 3 | SAS | PHO | 4-1 | 5 | 998.0 | 2400.0 | 41.6% |
| 2006 | ECS | 2 | DET | CLE | 4-3 | 5 | 1391.2 | 3360.0 | 41.4% |
| 1991 | WCS | 2 | POR | UTA | 4-1 | 5 | 992.0 | 2400.0 | 41.3% |
| 1997 | WCF | 3 | UTA | HOU | 4-2 | 5 | 1166.0 | 2880.0 | 40.5% |
| 2010 | FIN | 4 | LAL | BOS | 4-3 | 5 | 1353.9 | 3360.0 | 40.3% |
| 1998 | WCS | 2 | LAL | SEA | 4-1 | 6 | 957.0 | 2400.0 | 39.9% |
| 1991 | WCF | 3 | LAL | POR | 4-2 | 5 | 1142.0 | 2880.0 | 39.7% |
| 1993 | ECS | 2 | CHI | CLE | 4-0 | 5 | 761.0 | 1920.0 | 39.6% |
| 1997 | WC1 | 1 | HOU | MIN | 3-0 | 5 | 567.0 | 1440.0 | 39.4% |
| 2007 | WCS | 2 | SAS | PHO | 4-2 | 5 | 1121.5 | 2880.1 | 38.9% |
| 1994 | EC1 | 1 | NYK | NJN | 3-1 | 5 | 760.0 | 1970.0 | 38.6% |
| 2009 | FIN | 4 | LAL | ORL | 4-1 | 5 | 946.6 | 2500.0 | 37.9% |
| 2001 | FIN | 4 | LAL | PHI | 4-1 | 4 | 904.0 | 2450.0 | 36.9% |
| 1993 | FIN | 4 | CHI | PHO | 4-2 | 4 | 1098.0 | 3030.0 | 36.2% |
That's right, this Boston-Miami series is currently the only one since 1991 where more than half of the available minutes were given to current All-Stars.
Now, what about the greatest number of current, former, or future All-Stars in a single series:
| Year | Round | Round# | Winner/Leader | Loser/Trailer | W-L | Current AS | Ever AS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | EC1 | 1 | NYK | DET | 3-2 | 4 | 13 |
| 1992 | ECS | 2 | CHI | NYK | 4-3 | 3 | 13 |
| 1998 | ECS | 2 | IND | NYK | 4-1 | 2 | 13 |
| 2001 | EC1 | 1 | CHH | MIA | 3-0 | 2 | 13 |
| 2003 | WC1 | 1 | SAS | PHO | 4-2 | 3 | 12 |
| 2006 | ECF | 3 | MIA | DET | 4-2 | 6 | 11 |
| 1991 | WCS | 2 | POR | UTA | 4-1 | 5 | 11 |
| 1991 | WCF | 3 | LAL | POR | 4-2 | 5 | 11 |
| 2010 | ECS | 2 | BOS | CLE | 4-2 | 4 | 11 |
| 1991 | WC1 | 1 | UTA | PHO | 3-1 | 4 | 11 |
| 1991 | WC1 | 1 | POR | SEA | 3-2 | 4 | 11 |
| 1993 | ECF | 3 | CHI | NYK | 4-2 | 3 | 11 |
| 1992 | WCS | 2 | POR | PHO | 4-1 | 3 | 11 |
| 1992 | FIN | 4 | CHI | POR | 4-2 | 3 | 11 |
| 2004 | WC1 | 1 | SAC | DAL | 4-1 | 3 | 11 |
| 2005 | ECF | 3 | DET | MIA | 4-3 | 3 | 11 |
| 1991 | EC1 | 1 | CHI | NYK | 3-0 | 2 | 11 |
The 2011 Heat-Celtics series has seen just 9 players who were ever All-Stars at any point in their careers, but this list is obviously slanted toward older matchups because a series can retroactively move up the list if players get ASG nods later in the their careers.
Finally, here are the series that devoted the greatest percentage of available minutes to players who were ever All-Stars in their careers:
| Year | Round | Round# | Winner/Leader | Loser/Trailer | W-L | Current AS | Current AS Mp | Total Mp | Pct | Ever AS | Ever AS Mp | Total Mp | Pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | ECS | 2 | CHI | NYK | 4-3 | 3 | 886.0 | 3360.0 | 26.4% | 13 | 2574.0 | 3360.0 | 76.6% |
| 1992 | EC1 | 1 | NYK | DET | 3-2 | 4 | 771.0 | 2450.0 | 31.5% | 13 | 1858.0 | 2450.0 | 75.8% |
| 1993 | ECF | 3 | CHI | NYK | 4-2 | 3 | 740.0 | 2880.0 | 25.7% | 11 | 2169.0 | 2880.0 | 75.3% |
| 1998 | ECS | 2 | IND | NYK | 4-1 | 2 | 353.0 | 2450.0 | 14.4% | 13 | 1832.0 | 2450.0 | 74.8% |
| 1992 | WCS | 2 | POR | PHO | 4-1 | 3 | 630.0 | 2500.0 | 25.2% | 11 | 1865.0 | 2500.0 | 74.6% |
| 1993 | FIN | 4 | CHI | PHO | 4-2 | 4 | 1098.0 | 3030.0 | 36.2% | 10 | 2224.0 | 3030.0 | 73.4% |
| 1992 | FIN | 4 | CHI | POR | 4-2 | 3 | 736.0 | 2930.0 | 25.1% | 11 | 2143.0 | 2930.0 | 73.1% |
| 1994 | WC1 | 1 | PHO | GSW | 3-0 | 3 | 366.0 | 1440.0 | 25.4% | 10 | 1053.0 | 1440.0 | 73.1% |
| 1997 | EC1 | 1 | NYK | CHH | 3-0 | 2 | 259.0 | 1440.0 | 18.0% | 10 | 1045.0 | 1440.0 | 72.6% |
| 1991 | WCS | 2 | POR | UTA | 4-1 | 5 | 992.0 | 2400.0 | 41.3% | 11 | 1736.0 | 2400.0 | 72.3% |
| 1992 | WCF | 3 | POR | UTA | 4-2 | 3 | 730.0 | 2930.0 | 24.9% | 10 | 2035.0 | 2930.0 | 69.5% |
| 1993 | EC1 | 1 | NYK | IND | 3-1 | 2 | 317.0 | 1970.0 | 16.1% | 10 | 1362.0 | 1970.0 | 69.1% |
| 1991 | ECF | 3 | CHI | DET | 4-0 | 3 | 469.0 | 1920.0 | 24.4% | 10 | 1309.0 | 1920.0 | 68.2% |
| 1991 | WCF | 3 | LAL | POR | 4-2 | 5 | 1142.0 | 2880.0 | 39.7% | 11 | 1955.0 | 2880.0 | 67.9% |
| 2003 | WC1 | 1 | SAS | PHO | 4-2 | 3 | 810.0 | 2930.0 | 27.6% | 12 | 1980.0 | 2930.0 | 67.6% |
| 2006 | ECF | 3 | MIA | DET | 4-2 | 6 | 1359.2 | 2880.1 | 47.2% | 11 | 1945.5 | 2880.1 | 67.5% |
| 2000 | EC1 | 1 | NYK | TOR | 3-0 | 2 | 237.0 | 1440.0 | 16.5% | 9 | 971.0 | 1440.0 | 67.4% |
| 1991 | EC1 | 1 | CHI | NYK | 3-0 | 2 | 223.0 | 1440.0 | 15.5% | 11 | 969.0 | 1440.0 | 67.3% |
| 1997 | ECS | 2 | MIA | NYK | 4-3 | 3 | 779.0 | 3360.0 | 23.2% | 10 | 2240.0 | 3360.0 | 66.7% |
| 1997 | WCS | 2 | HOU | SEA | 4-3 | 6 | 1678.0 | 3410.0 | 49.2% | 9 | 2261.0 | 3410.0 | 66.3% |
Miami-Boston has seen 61.3% of available minutes devoted to current or former All-Stars, which ranks 36th since '91.
UPDATE: ESPN's Alok Pattani wrote about basically the same thing 3 days ago at TrueHoop:
(All) Stars aligned in Celtics-Heat series
I can't believe I missed that the first time around, especially since TrueHoop is firmly entrenched in the Official StatHead RSS Reader.
At any rate, good work by Alok & Elias, who found that the all-time record for most All-Stars in a single series is 8 -- the 1962 Celtics-Lakers Final that featured Bill Russell, Sam Jones, Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Frank Selvy, and Rudy LaRusso,
May 4th, 2011 at 11:23 am
What about only present and past All-Stars? To remove the bias for past games, I mean.
May 4th, 2011 at 11:31 am
I thought of that as well, mid-way through the process. I might be able to look at that at some point.
May 4th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
And those numbers don't include Shaq cause he hasn't played yet!
May 4th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
Could also look at total all-star appearances. Thats where Boston's numbers get ridiculous (especially if you include Shaq).
May 4th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
And what we've seen so far in the Heat v. Celtics series is the difference between having four All-Stars pre or post prime going against three All-Stars in their prime.
May 4th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
jason J - yea you're right. boston looks past its prime thus far, getting nothing out of the o'neal's...
well i know this series doesnt fit the time parameters, but the 1987 Finals had 11 all-stars, 4 season MVPs (jabbar, bird, johnson, walton) and 6 playoff MVPs (same 4 + DJ & worthy). hard to beat that total...
as for all-stars boston had bird, mchale, parish, DJ, ainge, walton and wedman...LA had jabbar, johnson, worthy, green. cooper and scott were also close to being all-stars at one point, as was mychal thompson.
unfortunately for boston, walton and wedman were too hurt to contribute and mchale was also hobbled with a broken foot.
the boston/LA 84 & 85 finals were also star-studded. wilkes was with LA as was former MVP mcadoo, while maxwell could have been an all-star. kupchak would have been too if he hadnt been hurt, and i think laker backup center in 84 swen nater may have played in 1 all-star game as well as in the aba.
im sure some of the boston/LA finals of the 1960s were loaded with all-stars, as were the laker/knick finals in the early 1970s (NY 6, LA 3 in 1973). boston (5)/milwaukee (4) in 1974 too...