L.A. Stars Ready for Showtime

More often than not in recent years, the NBA All-Star game has ended up revolving in some way around Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O’Neal.

In Atlanta last February, Bryant’s foul shots forced overtime and prevented a storybook ending for Michael Jordan.

In Philadelphia two years ago, Bryant was booed unmercifully in his hometown.

In 1996, fans in San Antonio booed Jordan’s MVP selection as a tribute to O’Neal. In 1998, Bryant waved off a pick from Karl Malone at Madison Square Garden, prompting a tirade on generational respect from the Mailman.

The two superstars will play on their home turf in today’s game, and chances are one of them will seize the spotlight again.

“If I’m feeling it, I’m going to try to take it,” O’Neal said. “But if I’m not feeling it, I’m not going to try to force the issue.”

The league’s showcase event has gone Hollywood this year, with the Staples Center -- home of the Lakers and Clippers -- playing host to the event. Jack Nicholson, Magic Johnson and Dyan Cannon will be courtside, the lower bowl will be liberally sprinkled with Academy Award winners, Grammy nominees, hip-hop impresarios and other varieties of the beautiful people that make this city a perfect place for such a spectacle.

Aside from O’Neal and Bryant, there are other All-Stars in this year’s game with ties to Los Angeles -- Paul Pierce grew up there and Baron Davis was a star at UCLA.

But will anybody care about those story lines when the ball goes up for the opening tip-off at 5:52 p.m. today? Or will all eyes turn to the two Lakers whose uneasy relationship has lent a plot-twisting undertone to the team’s continually evolving story?

O’Neal remains an icon in Los Angeles, a larger-than-life figure beloved for bringing three championships in the last four years.

Bryant’s stature is not what it once was, the sexual assault charges against him in Colorado tarnishing the image of a player once thought to be the perfect face of the NBA for its transition into the post-Jordan era.

“I don’t know if he [Bryant] is into it as much as he would have been,” said Elton Brand of the Clippers.

“I think Shaq, especially because he’s been pretty vocal, he’s been upset at the refs, he’ll want to shine. And it’s in his city.”

O’Neal will come off the bench for the second straight year behind Yao Ming of Houston, who outpolled him in fan balloting.

Other Western Conference starters are Kevin Garnett of Minnesota, Steve Francis of Houston, Tim Duncan of San Antonio and Bryant.

Starting for the East are Vince Carter of Toronto, Allen Iverson of Philadelphia, Tracy McGrady of Orlando, Ben Wallace of Detroit and Jermaine O’Neal of Indiana.

Minnesota’s Flip Sanders and Rack Carlisle of the Pacers are the coaches.

Among the reserves are six first-time All-Stars: Andrei Kirilenko of Utah, Michael Redd of Milwaukee, Kenyon Martin of New Jersey, Jamaal Magloire of New Orleans, Ron Artest of Indiana and Sam Cassell of Minnesota.

At 34, Cassell will be the second-oldest first-time All-Star in NBA history, one month younger than New York’s Sweetwater Clifton in 1957.

O’Neal is making his 11th All-Star appearance -- four more than anyone else in the game. Bryant is an All-Star for the sixth time, as is Tim Duncan, while Carter and McGrady are five-time All-Stars.

Jason Kidd and Garnett are second in seniority with seven appearances apiece.

“I’m sort of like one of the young elder statesmen,” said O’Neal, co-MVP of the 2000 All-Star game. “I just want to go out there and give the fans a good show with my special shoes that I’ve designed myself.”

Ah, the shoes.

All-Star weekend is as much about selling shoes and retro jerseys as it is about the game. Pierce of the Celtics has worn shiny green sneakers in recent All-Star games, and others have made footwear fashion statements since Scottie Pippen dominated the 1994 game in Minneapolis while wearing a pair of garish red kicks.

The player with the biggest shoe contract, LeBron James, will have to watch today after fans did not vote him in as a starter and the Eastern Conference coaches did not select him as a reserve.

James played in the Rookie Challenge on Friday night, teaming up with fellow rookie Carmelo Anthony against a team of second-year players.

Today, the court gets turned over to the veterans.

Bryant is expected to get a favorable reception from his hometown crowd and a chance to achieve some measure of image-rebuilding.

“Playing in the All-Star game is fun, especially with the amount of votes I received. I do want to get out there and play and show the fans I appreciate all the votes,” Bryant said.

One player who could keep the game from being all about Bryant or O’Neal is Garnett, who earned MVP honors a year ago by scoring 37 points in the West’s 155-145 double-overtime victory.

Garnett has scored in double figures in five straight All-Star games and has never missed a free throw in the event. He shot 17-of-24 in last year’s game and scored nine points in the second overtime.

Iverson has the highest career average in All-Star history, 22.8 points, while Bryant is second averaging 21.0.

A total of 325 international media members from 41 countries and territories are scheduled to cover All-Star Weekend, the NBA said, and today’s game will be broadcast by 103 international telecasters to 212 countries in 42 languages reaching an audience of more than 3.1 billion.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

ALL-STAR GAME RESULTS, MVPs AND RECORDS

2003--West 155, East 145, 2OT...Kevin Garnett, Minnesota

2002--West 135, East 120...Kobe Bryant, Lakers

2001--East 111, West 110...Allen Iverson, Philadelphia

2000--West 137, East 126...Tim Duncan, San Antonio; and Shaquille O’Neal, Lakers

1999--No game.

1998--East 135, West 114...Michael Jordan, Chicago

1997--East 132, West 120...Glen Rice, Charlotte

1996--East 129, West 118...Michael Jordan, Chicago

1995--West 139, East 112...Mitch Richmond, Sacramento

1994--East 127, West 118...Scottie Pippen, Chicago

1993--West 135, East 132, OT...Karl Malone and John Stockton, Utah

1992--West 153, East 113...Magic Johnson, Lakers

1991--East 116, West 114...Charles Barkley, Philadelphia

1990--East 130, West 113...Magic Johnson, Lakers

1989--West 143, East 134...Karl Malone, Utah

1988--East 138, West 133...Michael Jordan, Chicago

1987--West 154, East 149, OT...Tom Chambers, Seattle

1986--East 139, West 132...Isiah Thomas, Detroit

1985--West 140, East 129...Ralph Sampson, Houston

1984--East 154, West 145, OT...Isiah Thomas, Detroit

1983--East 132, West 123...Julius Erving, Philadelphia

1982--East 120, West 118...Larry Bird, Boston

1981--East 123, West 120...Tiny Archibald, Boston

1980--East 144, West 136, OT...George Gervin, San Antonio

1979--West 134, East 129...David Thompson, Denver

1978--East 133, West 125...Randy Smith, Buffalo

1977--West 125, East 124...Julius Erving, Philadelphia

1976--East 123, West 109...Dave Bing, Detroit

1975--East 108, West 102...Walt Frazier, New York

1974--West 134, East 123...Bob Lanier, Detroit

1973--East 104, West 84...Dave Cowens, Boston

1972--West 112, East 110...Jerry West, Lakers

1971--West 108, East 107...Lenny Wilkens, Seattle

1970--East 142, West 135...Willis Reed, New York

1969--East 123, West 112...Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati

1968--East 144, West 124...Hal Greer, Philadelphia

1967--West 135, East 120...Rick Barry, San Francisco

1966--East 137, West 94...Adrian Smith, Cincinnati

1965--East 124, West 123...Jerry Lucas, Cincinnati

1964--East 111, West 107...Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati

1963--East 115, West 108...Bill Russell, Boston

1962--West 150, East 130...Bob Pettit, St. Louis

1961--West 153, East 131...Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati

1960--East 125, West 115...Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia

1959--West 124, East 108...Elgin Baylor, Minneapolis; and Bob Pettit, St. Louis

1958--East 130, West 118...Bob Pettit, St. Louis

1957--East 109, West 97...Bob Cousy, Boston

1956--West 108, East 94...Bob Pettit, St. Louis

1955--East 100, West 91...Bill Sharman, Boston

1954--East 98, West 93, OT...Bob Cousy, Boston

1953--West 79, East 75...George Mikan, Minneapolis

1952--East 108, West 91...Paul Arzin, Philadelphia

1951--East 111, West 94...Ed Macauley, Boston

CAREER

Games Played -- 18, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee-L.A. Lakers.

Minutes Played -- 449, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee-L.A. Lakers.

Points -- 262, Michael Jordan, Chicago-Washington.

Scoring Average -- 22.8, Allen Iverson, Philadelphia (91 points-4 games).

Field Goals Made -- 110, Michael Jordan, Chicago-Washington.

Field Goals Attempted -- 233, Michael Jordan, Chicago-Washington.

Free Throws Made -- 78, Elgin Baylor, Minneapolis-L.A. Lakers.

Free Throws Attempted -- 98, Elgin Baylor, Minneapolis-L.A. Lakers and Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati-Milwaukee.

Rebounds -- 197, Wilt Chamberlain, Phi.-S.F. Warriors-Phi. 76ers-L.A. Lakers

Assists -- 127, Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers.

Steals -- 37, Michael Jordan, Chicago-Washington.

Blocked Shots -- 31, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee-L.A. Lakers.

Personal Fouls -- 57, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee-L.A. Lakers.

GAME

Points -- 42, Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors, 1962.

Field Goals Made -- 17, Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors, 1962; Michael Jordan, Chicago, 1988 and Kevin Garnett, Minnesota, 2003 (2OT).

Field Goals Attempted -- 27, Rick Barry, San Francisco, 1967 and Michael Jordan, Washington 2003 (2OT).

Free Throws Made -- 12, Elgin Baylor, Los Angeles, 1962, and Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati, 1965.

Free Throws Attempted -- 16, Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors, 1962.

Rebounds -- 27, Bob Pettit, St. Louis, 1962.

Assists -- 22, Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers, 1984 (OT); 19, Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers, 1988.

Steals -- 8, Rick Barry, Golden State, 1975.

Blocked Shots -- 6, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles, 1980 (OT); 5, Patrick Ewing, New York, 1990 and Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston, 1994.