After taking a look at the NBA players who have won the most playoff series without All-Star teammates in league history, a list led by LeBron James, as well as by Nikola Jokic, we’re now going to take a look at the players who won the most playoff games without All-NBA teammates that season.
Like in the other list, James sits at No. 1 here, but this time, with a far bigger gap.
Of course, this is not the end-all, be-all. NBA superstars can still be surrounded by top-notch players and make playoff runs, even if none of those teammates earn All-NBA status that season. But what this exercise focuses on is elite players who won a lot of playoff games without having a superstar sidekick. (Winning a lot of playoff games doesn’t mean those players had championship success either, though, as you’ll see with No. 3 on this list.)
In case you’re wondering, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is at No. 22 here with 44 wins, and Michael Jordan is at No. 30 with 39.
Regardless, here’s the Top 15.
1. LeBron James: 116
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 2006 (7), 2007 (12), 2008 (7), 2009 (10), 2010 (6), 2013 (1), 2014 (13), 2015 (4), 2016 (16), 2017 (13), 2018 (12), 2021 (2), 2023 (8), 2025 (1), 2026 (4)
How’s this for a fun fact? James would still be No. 1 here, at least tied for the honor, if we only counted his nine playoff runs with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In Cleveland, James won 87 playoff games without All-NBA teammates.
During James’ first stint with the Cavaliers, he never had a teammate even close to the All-NBA level. In fact, during that entire seven-year run, James only had two teammates who even earned All-Star honors: Zydrunas Ilgauskas in 2004-05 and Mo Williams in 2008-09. Even so, James won 42 playoff games during that stretch, including leading Cleveland to the NBA Finals in 2007.
James’ second run in Cleveland included an elite Kyrie Irving for three years (Irving left the Cavs a year before James did), surely an All-NBA-level talent, but a player who didn’t earn the distinction as many times in his career as he probably should have, be it due to injuries or bad luck with award voting. Irving also missed some time in the postseason, including seven games in 2014-15, with injury, giving James more playoff wins without an All-NBA teammate for this exercise.
Another fun fact: James has never won a playoff game with a 1st Team All-NBA teammate. It would have happened this year had Luka Doncic not gotten hurt, but still a pretty crazy reality.
2. Tim Duncan: 87
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 1999 (15), 2002 (4), 2003 (16), 2004 (6), 2005 (16), 2006 (7), 2007 (16), 2010 (4), 2015 (3)
Yet another stat that shows how underrated Hall-of-Fame big man Tim Duncan is. Duncan actually won four of his rings without All-NBA help, in 1998-99, 2002-03, 2004-05 and 2006-07. That’s right, Duncan didn’t have a single teammate to earn All-NBA honors in any of the first four seasons in which he won a championship.
Yes, he did play for a fantastic organization that surrounded him with very good talent. But he was also a key reason why the organization was so fantastic, setting the culture himself by being a low-maintenance star who played in an unselfish style that let others shine, helping non-All-NBA-level teammates perform far above their capabilities in the toughest setting: the NBA playoffs.
3. Patrick Ewing: 71
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 1988 (1), 1989 (5), 1990 (4), 1992 (6), 1993 (9), 1994 (14), 1995 (6), 1996 (4), 1997 (6), 1998 (1), 1999 (8), 2000 (7)
Legendary New York Knicks big man Patrick Ewing is often one of the first names brought up when fans and pundits discuss the best players in league history without a ring. And looking at his place on this list, it’s more understandable why Ewing never won a title, as he didn’t have much help in the form of All-NBA or All-Star teammates.
Not only does Ewing have the third-most NBA playoff wins without an All-NBA teammate, but he also ranks ninth in league history in playoff wins without an All-Star teammate with 37.
Also hurting Ewing and the Knicks was the fact that they peaked while having to face prime MJ and his dynastic Chicago Bulls of the ’90s. So you can make the case that Ewing could have even more playoff wins, and perhaps even a ring, if not for MJ’s presence in the East in the ’90s.
4. Larry Bird: 69
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 1980 (5), 1983 (2), 1984 (15), 1985 (13), 1986 (15), 1987 (2), 1988 (9), 1990 (2), 1991 (5), 1992 (1)
One of the greatest small forwards of all time, Larry Bird gets a boost here because, during his prime in the early and mid-1980s, the NBA only had two All-NBA teams annually. The league did not implement a 3rd Team All-NBA until 1988-89, by which point Bird’s two star teammates, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, were at the tail end of their peaks.
In fact, Parish made the inaugural All-NBA 3rd Team in 1988-89, so we’re very confident McHale and Parish would have racked up more All-NBA appearances had the award existed sooner, which would have knocked Bird down this list.
5. Reggie Miller: 62
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 1991 (2), 1993 (1), 1994 (10), 1995 (10), 1998 (10), 1999 (9), 2000 (13), 2001 (1), 2005 (6)
The same we said about Ewing applies to Reggie Miller, who was once considered the best shooter in league history, prior to the modern, three-point-obsessed era. Miller could very possibly have had even more playoff wins and perhaps a championship, if not for his peak coinciding with Jordan’s. Still, it shows the level of player Miller was that he’s Top 5 in NBA history in playoff wins without an All-NBA teammate.
In 1999-00, Miller led Indiana to the NBA Finals without All-NBA help. In said Finals, Miller and the Pacers even took two games from the Shaq and Kobe Lakers. That Pacers team was strong, however, which goes to show that just because a team isn’t littered with All-NBA players, it does not mean the team can’t be pretty loaded. Along with Miller, that Pacers team had Jalen Rose, who got MVP votes that year and won Most Improved Player, as well as another All-Star in Dale Davis.
6. Hakeem Olajuwon: 59
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 1986 (13), 1987 (5), 1988 (1), 1989 (1), 1990 (1), 1993 (6), 1994 (15), 1996 (3), 1997 (9), 1998 (2), 1999 (1), 2002 (2)
Roughly a Top 10 player in NBA history, one-time league MVP Hakeem Olajuwon only won two titles in his playing career, but he did make three trips to the Finals. And he did so without much top-notch help, as Olajuwon won the 1993-94 NBA championship without an All-NBA teammate. He also led the Houston Rockets to the Finals in 1985-86 without All-NBA help, even knocking out the peak Showtime Lakers in the Western Conference Finals that year.
Olajuwon not winning more championship hardware in his career didn’t have that much to do with him, though, but with his company. It’s hard to fault the Rockets for that, though, as they should have had an all-time frontcourt in Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson, but Sampson sadly saw his prime get cut way short due to injuries.
7. Paul Pierce: 57
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 2002 (9), 2003 (4), 2005 (3), 2009 (7), 2010 (15), 2011 (5), 2012 (1), 2013 (2), 2014 (5), 2015 (6)
Without his 2010 playoff run, Paul Pierce would not rank as high as he does in this exercise.
That year, Pierce and the Boston Celtics went to the NBA Finals, falling in seven games to the rival Lakers, with the team having no All-NBA players on the roster. The squad was loaded, though, as Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo were All-Stars, Kendrick Perkins earned Defensive Player of the Year votes and Rondo even got 1st Team All-Defense and finished fifth in the Defensive Player of the Year vote. And that’s without even mentioning Hall-of-Fame 2-guard Ray Allen, who shot nearly 39 percent from three in the playoffs that year.
Pierce also racked up playoff wins in his post-Celtics days, when he was far from the best player on those teams, so his high ranking here doesn’t really tell the full story.
8. Dirk Nowitzki: 56
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 2001 (4), 2004 (1), 2005 (6), 2006 (14), 2007 (2), 2008 (1), 2009 (5), 2010 (2), 2011 (16), 2014 (3), 2015 (1), 2016 (1)
Dirk Nowitzki ranks fourth all-time in playoff wins without an All-Star teammate and seventh in playoff wins without an All-NBA teammate. That includes Nowitzki’s magical 2011 postseason run, when he led the Dallas Mavericks to the only championship in franchise history without another All-Star or All-NBA player on the roster. The big German pulled it off by getting past Kobe’s Lakers in the second round, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and the OKC Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, and LeBron James and the Big 3 Miami Heat in the Finals.
Nuts.
8. Jayson Tatum: 56
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 2018 (11), 2020 (10), 2021 (1), 2022 (14), 2024 (16), 2025 (4)
Another example of how this metric can be a bit misleading, Jayson Tatum racked up wins in the 2024 playoffs to put him in the Top 10 of this exercise, as the Celtics won the championship that year with Tatum as the only All-NBA player on the roster, but the team’s lineup was loaded, as Jaylen Brown, the Finals MVP that year, was an All-Star, while role players Jrue Holiday and Derrick White both made 2nd Team All-Defense.
Not only that, but floor-spacing big man Kristaps Porzingis averaged 20 points, seven rebounds and nearly two blocks per game that regular season but didn’t even make All-Star due to missing time due to injury. In Tatum’s defense, Porzingis did miss almost that entire postseason due to more injury troubles, so Tatum did have to do some carrying that playoff run, at least until the Finals, when Brown stepped up.
10. Magic Johnson: 55
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 1980 (1), 1982 (12), 1987 (15), 1988 (15), 1989 (11), 1996 (1)
A lot of what we said before about Bird applies here with Magic Johnson, as well, as the Showtime Lakers were stacked, but didn’t get as much accolade love due to there not being a 3rd Team All-NBA until 1988-89. As such, Johnson does get a boost in this exercise, as James Worthy, a Hall-of-Famer, didn’t earn the All-NBA consideration he deserved in his prime.
Once the NBA started doling out 3rd Team All-NBA honors every year, Worthy immediately made the cut in ’90 and ’91, so imagine how many more selections he would have earned in the ’80s. Worthy even won Finals MVP in 1988 without making All-NBA that season, a year when Johnson racked up 15 playoff wins “without All-NBA help.” Mind you, Abdul-Jabbar was on that roster, too.
11. Derrick McKey: 53
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 1988 (2), 1991 (2), 1992 (4), 1993 (10), 1994 (10), 1996 (2), 1999 (9), 2000 (13), 2001 (1)
Derrick McKey being included here is an example of how this exercise doesn’t only highlight superstars, but also very good role players.
A two-time All-Defensive Team player, McKey made the playoffs 13 times in his 15 NBA seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics and Pacers, in eras when both franchises were quite strong. A tough-nosed wing defender who could rack up takeaways, block shots and hit the occasional jumper on the offensive end, he was a fine role player through and through who contributed on some very good rosters, including the 2000 Pacers squad that went to the Finals.
12. Nikola Jokic: 51
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 2019 (7), 2020 (9), 2021 (4), 2022 (1), 2023 (16), 2024 (7), 2025 (7)
Prior to this season and Jamal Murray rightfully earning his first All-Star spot, Jokic had never even had All-Star help on his roster, let alone All-NBA help. In NBA history, only James has more playoff wins without All-Star help than the big Serbian, so it’s kind of surprising Jokic didn’t fare as well in this exercise. Even so, it won’t be surprising to see Jokic move his way up this list over the coming seasons, as, despite how good Murray, we don’t think he’ll be an All-NBAer regularly as the guard spot is too loaded around the league.
12. Joe Dumars: 51
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 1988 (14), 1989 (15), 1990 (15), 1991 (7)
Part of what made the Bad Boys Pistons so memorable is the fact that they did all that winning in the late ’80s and early ’90s, consistently tormenting the likes of Bird’s Celtics and Jordan’s Bulls on their way to two championships in ’89 and ’90, and one other Finals appearances, as well as two other Eastern Conference Finals appearances… all while having nearly no All-NBA players on their roster.
The only Pistons player to earn All-NBA honors from ’88 to ’91 was Joe Dumars, who was a 3rd Team All-NBAer in ’90 and ’91, which is why he found a spot on this list, while the likes of Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman did not. Still, Dumars deserved those honors, as he was a beastly two-way 2-guard with scoring and playmaking ability, as well as a whole lot of toughness.
14. Sam Perkins: 50
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 1985 (1), 1986 (5), 1987 (1), 1988 (10), 1993 (10), 1999 (9), 2000 (13), 2001 (1)
Like McKey, part of what landed Sam Perkins on this list was his time with the SuperSonics and Pacers of the ’90s, who won a lot of games, including in the playoffs, without any All-NBA selections on the roster. That’s where Perkins racked up most of his playoff wins, as a role player alongside non-All-NBA teammates in Indiana and Seattle. He picked up another 10 in 1987-88 with the Dallas Mavericks, a squad that pushed the Showtime Lakers to seven games in the Western Conference finals that year despite having zero All-NBA names on it.
15. Ben Wallace: 49
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 2002 (4), 2003 (8), 2004 (16), 2005 (15), 2007 (6)
Like the Bad Boys Pistons, the franchise’s reincarnated version of the early ’00s also did a whole lot of winning as a unit, without All-NBA players leading the way. That does not mean they were not loaded, however, as the team boasted the likes of Chauncey Billups, a Hall-of-Famer, Richard Hamilton, a three-time All-Star, Rasheed Wallace, who got MVP votes a couple times in his career, Tayshaun Prince, a four-time All-Defender who won Olympic gold with Team USA in 2008… and Ben Wallace, the heart and soul of the team.
Wallace was such a monster defender that he earned All-NBA honors five times, which landed him his spot on this list, as he was the only All-NBAer on those incredibly tough Pistons teams, including the 2004 one that won the championship, and the 2005 one that took the Spurs to Game 7 of the 2005 Finals.
15. Jason Kidd: 49
Playoff wins per season without All-NBA teammate: 1997 (2), 1998 (1), 2000 (2), 2001 (1), 2002 (11), 2003 (14), 2004 (7), 2006 (5), 2007 (6)
Hall-of-Fame lead guard Jason Kidd was so good that he carried some not-that-stacked New Jersey Nets teams to the Finals in ’02 and ’03, racking up playoff wins without All-NBA help that season. Without those two deep playoff runs, Kidd would have missed the cut for this exercise. Kidd didn’t even have another All-Star on those Nets squads, showing not only how much of a carry job he did getting those teams to back-to-back Finals, but also how weak the Eastern Conference was at that time.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Ranking: Who has the most playoff wins in history without All-NBA help?