in NBA Articles

LeBron was MVP

The NBA All-Star game may finally be worth your time again.

I enjoyed Sunday’s game so much that I might lift my 12-year ban on attending All-Star weekends. This one had plenty of everything -- from nifty passes to great dunks to clutch shooting to defensive intensity. Yes, I said intensity. In an All-Star game!

Heck, referee Dick Bavetta even called the West’s Tony Parker for palming the ball -- right after Allen Iverson pointed out! But hey, Iverson ought to know palming when he sees it, right? I absolutely love the 76ers guard, and he proved Sunday his passionate play isn’t limited to just the regular season and playoffs. If Iverson is on a court -- any court -- he‘s playing with all his heart.

Anyway, back to the game. Could there be more proof that the NBA is becoming a league of real basketball again, and not just a bunch of young players who want to put on a show? If we discovered anything Sunday, it’s that winning is suddenly more popular than entertaining.

The Akron Beacon-Journal ran a story Sunday morning that basically said LeBron James had little hope of being named All-Star MVP, listing a variety of reasons. Glad I’m not the only one who’s wrong on a continuous basis.

Before Sunday, I was calling it the “NDA” All-Star game, as in “No Defense Allowed.” But as much as I drone on about the Golden Era of Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird, this game featured more ‘D’ than any All-Star gathering in the 25 years that I’ve been following the league. Thank you, Detroit Pistons!

Can you tell I’m excited? Can you tell my spirits have been lifted by the all-out effort from the league’s best players? Have I been using too many exclamation points in this newsletter?! But whoever thought I’d be writing all of this about a meaningless mid-season game where only $10,000 (per player) is at stake?

I wrote “only $10,000” because this is professional sports we’re talking about.

If I do lift my ban on attending All-Star games, it probably won’t hurt that next year’s is in Las Vegas.

Then again, there’s a lot to be said for leaning back in a comfortable chair, kicking my feet up, and watching the game on big screen HDTV. Especially at my age.

Besides, I would hate to miss listening to TNT’s Charles Barkley and all of his halftime motivational speeches. It’s pretty much a guarantee: If Barkley says you have no chance to win, you’ll win.

It’s too bad Barkley and New York Post columnist Peter Vecsey can’t get along (OK, hate each other). In my opinion, they’re the two most honest voices in pro basketball today. Both calls ‘em like they sees ‘em.

Kobe Clemency

It’s time to forgive Kobe Bryant. I’m not exactly sure what for, but I do know a lot of fans don’t like him -- for no good reason.

If you love basketball, you should love Bryant. He’s more than just the game’s best player; he’s someone who works tirelessly in the off-season, someone who has mastered the fundamentals, someone who places winning above all else, and someone who demands the same of his teammates.

Granted, it isn’t easier to like Bryant when he is in commercials like the one being run by Nike, where he implies that he thrives on hate. I guarantee you, the only people who “hate” him either:

A) Just don’t like the Lakers; or B) Are more concerned with off-the-court stuff than what’s taking place during the game. The former is at least understandable, but there’s no excuse for the latter.

And just ask members of the media, when the topic is interviewing all-around classy guys, Bryant’s name is frequently mentioned.

More All-Star Stuff

• It’s easy to forget that Detroit’s Chauncey Billups was once a pro basketball vagabond. I mean, this is the same man who was once traded from Toronto to Denver (with Tyson Wheeler) for Zeljko Rebraca and an over-the-hill Michael Williams. And that was only six years ago.
• A year later, Billups was traded to Orlando (with Ron Mercer and Johnny Taylor) for Chris Gatling and Tariq Abdul-Wahad. In other words, Billups wasn’t exactly the type of guy you’d be using as bait for Shaquille O’Neal -- or Ryan O’Neal, for that matter.
• Today, Billups is a lot of people’s frontrunner for league MVP (myself included). He’s been the best player on the best team, much like Phoenix’s Steve Nash last season.
• Being the best regular-season team’s MVP should almost always be the criteria for the league award. That is why I hate it when the blowhards at ESPN still complain about Nash’s selection last year. To many media members, winning means little -- which is why too many “fans,” and even players, also feel that way.
• Why weren’t the All-Stars wearing their respective team warm-ups, as opposed to ones that read “East” and “West” on them? And I could have lived without the All-Star uniforms. One longtime friend went as far as to say, “I turned on the game for about 40 seconds, took one look at the uniforms, then turned it back off.”
• I’m not necessarily a big fan of symphonies, either -- but the Houston Symphony that played during player introductions was a major improvement over listening to Mariah Carey at the 2003 game.
• Also, was it just me, or did the ball used in the game look unbelievably slippery?
• Another question: Do you think Tim Duncan ever has a chance to be named All-Star game MVP? The odds are definitely against him. For one, Duncan is a throw-back post player, and post players of any sort don’t often receive a pass in these events. Secondly, Duncan isn’t exactly the most exciting fellow in the league.
• No less than Tracy McGrady agrees. Just check out this note from the Los Angeles Times: “McGrady, appearing in the interview room with Duncan, said the All-Star game belongs to the guards since ‘there's really no excitement to throw the ball to them [big men] down there,’ whereupon Duncan threw up his hands in mock resignation, got up and left. ‘Your game, it's effective!’ McGrady yelled to the departing Duncan. ‘But it's boring.’”

Broadcast Notes

• TNT’s constant self-promotion of upcoming programs during games is downright annoying. How many times do we have to be reminded that the network will be air the movie “Armageddon”? According to my count, the answer is 17! Besides, why would anyone be excited about watching a really bad film that was released five or six years ago?
• Meanwhile, the new Michael Jordan commercial brings a tear to my every time. In case you missed it, the ad shows youngsters performing a variety of moves that Jordan made famous -- from The Shot that beat Cleveland in 1989, to his shrug after burying his sixth three-pointer in the 1992 Finals against Portland, to his switching-hands-in-midair layup in the ‘91 Finals against the Lakers. At the end, it shows Jordan smiling as he watches all the kids making his moves. It’s the best basketball commercial since all those Spike Lee ads featuring Mars Blackman in the late ‘80s (Did ya know, did ya know, did ya know?)
• Finally, this has nothing to do with the All-Star game or NBA, but I urge you to check out ESPN’s “Knight School.” And this is coming from a guy who, aside from sports, despises reality TV in any form. Anyway, the program features legendary college coach Bobby Knight, who is choosing one player for the final walk-on spot at Texas Tech. Sixteen kids are trying out. Like most ESPN programs, I’m sure “Knight School” will be shoved down your throat until your stomach hurts, so there shouldn’t be any problem finding a time when it’s on.

Final Thought

More than anything, this All-Star game proved that NBA commissioner David Stern deserves credit for retaking control of the league, cleaning up its image, and putting a quality product back out on the floor. What’s most impressive is Stern made it all happen just one season after the Pistons-Pacers mess. While Stern has been criticized (by yours truly) for creating a league based solely on marketing, he should be also applauded for using his promotional savvy to listen to people’s complaints -- and then making an effort to bring back the die-hard fan.

Sam Amico is an NBA Staff Writer for Basketball.com. To contact him, email amicoreport@hotmail.com.