Grammy Award winner John Legend will be performing this year. (AP Photo)
HOUSTON -- In Clyde Drexler`s day, the NBA All-Star Weekend felt more like work than play.
``The luster of being an All-Star was kind of wearing off because there wasn`t a lot of stuff to do that weekend,`` said Drexler, a 10-time All-Star and former Houston Rocket. ``For a while, guys were like, `I`d like to take my family to the beach instead.```
Now, Drexler said, All-Star Weekend has become the can`t-miss event of the season for players, with the basketball stuff sandwiched between glitzy dance parties featuring A-list celebrities.
The ever-expanding All-Star festivities are back in Houston for the first time since 1989 and players - and others with good connections - have plenty of options before Sunday`s All-Star game.
They can chill at Shaquille O`Neal`s All-Star Hang Suite, check out the scene at hip-hop mogul Jermaine Dupri`s bash or crash another soiree being hosted by singer Tyrese.
And don`t forget the two parties hosted by San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker and his girlfriend - ``Desperate Housewives`` star Eva Longoria.
``Now, they`ve got fun things for the players and they get to have a little vacation in the middle of the season,`` said Drexler. ``That makes more guys want to come.``
Calvin Murphy, an NBA Hall of Famer who played for the Rockets from 1970-83, remembers when it was just about basketball.
Murphy played in the 1979 All-Star Game in Detroit, but his personal highlight came before the opening tip.
``To hear the announcer say, `And now, let me introduce the greatest basketball players in the world,` it didn`t get any better than that,`` he said. ``And then I`m sitting on the same bench with Dr. J, `Pistol` Pete Maravich, Moses Malone. I wanted all their autographs, but I was too embarrassed to ask.``
Now, guys like Shaq and Kobe can trade signatures with guys like Slim Thug and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
``Celebrities have always been a part of All-Star Weekend,`` Drexler said. ``Now, it seems like a lot more want to be associated with it.``
The average fans - of basketball and hip-hop - will be lucky to get any glimpse of a celebrity in Houston this weekend. Most fans won`t even get into the Toyota Center, let alone one of the star-studded galas.
They`ll have to settle for the Jam Session, a bright-colored basketball playground, with dozens of interactive exhibits. Kids can dunk on lowered baskets, see how their shoe sizes stack up with some of the NBA`s giants and dribble through a maze of cardboard defenders.
It`s all enough to make a basketball purist cringe, but Murphy says he likes what All-Star Weekend has become - even though he never expected it all to become so big.
``It`s gone from a game to a spectacular,`` he said. ``It`s unfortunate that All-Star tickets are so expensive and hard to get, but that`s just the way life is. In the past, it was something the average fans could easily see. Now, it`s become something where a whole city gets involved and even the fans who can`t see it can still be heavily involved.``
The actual basketball starts Friday night, when a team of NBA rookies face second-year players. The slam-dunk contest highlights a night of skills competitions on Saturday and the All-Star game tips off at 8 p.m. EDT on Sunday.
As with the parties, though, the game is sprinkled with celebrities. Reuniting hometown trio Destiny`s Child will perform the national anthem after singing during last year`s pregame festivities. R&B crooner John Legend, who recently picked up three Grammy awards, and 2005 American Idol winner Carrie Underwood will perform at halftime.
Despite the glitz, Murphy said the real stars are still the ones on the court.
``How could it diminish the game when you`ve got LeBron and Kobe and Shaq all coming to town to play?`` Murphy said. ``If anything, the things they`ve added have helped. Now, all the players want to be there. You couldn`t drag them away.
0 commentaires:
Post a Comment