NBA All-Star weekend starts today
Bernard Vassallo
Today I would like to talk about a very big event happening in the USA between today and Sunday, the 2003 NBA All-Star Weekend in Atlanta.
Basketball may not generate an enormous following in Malta and Europe, yet it has a large following not only in the USA but also in Asia and Australia while the African interest is gradually improving.
This year s All-Star game (the first was played in 1951) is generating a lot of interest for many different reasons. One of these reasons is the fact that this will definitely be Michael Jordan s last appearance after a highly successful career. I am sure most of you, even if not basketball followers, have heard of the great MJ, regarded as the best ever player and who, throughout his impressive career, managed to create a big boom in the game's popularity.
Proof of basketball's worldwide popularity is the fact that the NBA All-Star 2003 weekend will reach more than three billion people through NBA Entertainment's latest television, Internet, film and digital technologies. There will be 212 countries who will receive complete television coverage with 35 international television networks who will be on site. The game will be broadcast in 41 languages, including Chinese (Mandarin).
For the first time in his career, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers received the most votes in the NBA All-Star Balloting that determines starters for the All-Star Game. Bryant received 1,474,386 votes out of the more than 4.5 million ballots cast in the last weeks.
Kevin Garnett has been selected to his sixth NBA All-Star Game; Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan to their fifth; Vince Carter and Allen Iverson to their fourth; Tracy McGrady his third; Steve Francis and Jermaine O Neal to their second; and Yao Ming (the Chinese revelation this year) will be making his first appearance. Yao Ming is also the first rookie selected to start an NBA All-Star Game since Grant Hill in 1995.
Head coaches for the East and West All-Star Teams are coaches whose teams have the best winning percentage in their respective conferences up till the end of January. Thus, Rick Adelman of the Sacramento Kings (31-11, .738) will coach the West, while Isiah Thomas of the Indiana Pacers (30-12, .714) will be on the sidelines for the East team. The East will wear white and the West will wear red.
Washington's Michael Jordan, a 14-time NBA All-Star, and Los Angeles Lakers centre Shaquille O'Neal, selected to his 10th All-Star Game, lead the reserves for this year's event.
Six teams - Boston, Dallas, Houston, Indiana, the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix - have a pair of players in the game. A total 18 NBA teams are represented on the combined East and West rosters.
The selections of Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Lithuania), Steve Nash (Canada), Peja Stojakovic (Yugoslavia) and Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), along with voted-starters Tim Duncan (US Virgin Islands) and Yao Ming (China), ties the record (2002) of six international players from six countries who will participate in the All-Star Game. Ilgauskas is the first Lithuanian and Yao is the first Asian to be selected as an NBA All-Star.
More internationals will be seen in the Rookie Challenge, a game held during the weekend between players who are in their first or second year in the NBA. Here one can find Manu Ginobili (Argentina, a great player on and off the field and I can personally vouch for that), Pau Gasol (Spain), Gordon Giricek (Croatia), Nene Hilario (Brazil), Andrei Kirilenko (Russia) and Frenchman Tony Parker.
The weekend will also include other awaited events. One of these is the annual Slam Dunk competition (held in 1984 for the fist time with Larry Nance being the winner) which this year will feature four exciting young aerial artists in a two-round competition.
Golden State's Jason Richardson will return to defend his title and there will also be Seattle's Desmond Mason, the 2001 champion. In addition to Richardson and Mason, first-timers Richard Jefferson of the New Jersey Nets and Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns will participate.
The three-point shot competition (held in 1986 for the first time with shooting great Larry Bird winning the first three editions) is also held during the weekend and this year six players will compete. Stojakovic will try to defend the title won last year against the likes of Brent Barry (Seattle), Pat Garrity (Orlando), Wesley Person (Memphis), Antoine Walker (Boston) and David Wesley (New Orleans).
NBA legends Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Dominique Wilkins lead a star-studded line up of NBA and WNBA players, NBA legends and celebrities competing in the All-Star Hoop-It-Up, a 3-on-3 game featuring two teams consisting of an NBA player, WNBA player, NBA legend and a celebrity. The event this year will be a 3-on-3 half court game with teams from Atlanta and Los Angeles.
bernardvassallo@yahoo.co.uk
