Toronto Raptors: 3 biggest All-Star snubs in franchise history

By Ben Fisher | Feb 28, 2021

TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 14: Kyle Lowry #7 of the Toronto Raptors and the Eastern Conference and DeMar DeRozan #10 of the Toronto Raptors and the Eastern Conference hold a jersey after the NBA All-Star Game 2016 at the Air Canada Centre on February 14, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – NOVEMBER 13: Jose Calderon #8 of the Toronto Raptors (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Jose Calderon (2007-08 and 2011-12)

Scoring matters in the NBA – of that there is no doubt. That’s true of the current league landscape where pass-first point guards are a rare breed, but also perpetually true of All-Star consideration. In that sense, Calderon never had a chance.

While Calderon topped out at 12.8 points per game in seven and a half seasons in Toronto (he never got close after that), his masterful play-making merited inclusion on at least two occasions.

Jose Calderon was underrated during his Raptors tenure

In 2007-08, Numero Ocho was such a steady, stabilizing force for the Raptors that then-ESPN writer John Hollinger suggested he was “the third-best guard in the East” behind Dwyane Wade and Chauncey Billups but ahead of guys like Carter, Jason Kidd, Richard Hamilton and Michael Redd.

At the time, however, he had the second-lowest scoring average of the group (only Kidd was lower), so Hamilton and Kidd got the nods instead.

In 2011-12, Calderon ranked third in assists per game on a pretty terrible Raptors team, managing to coax career-best (to that point, anyway) performances out of a young DeMar DeRozan, Jerryd Bayless and even Andrea Bargnani. Hey, maybe it’s Calderon – and not Ben Uzoh – who should be blamed for the club’s No. 8 draft slot that June.

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