A Star-studded Basketball Festival in Oakland
February 10, 2000, Singapore . . . Catch all the action from the world’s best basketball league when ESPN STAR Sports brings LIVE coverage of the NBA All Star 2000. STAR Sports will bring the All Star Saturday LIVE at 09:00, February 13, while ESPN will bring the 49th NBA All Star Game LIVE at 07:30, February 14 (both Hong Kong/Singapore time).
The mid-point of this thrilling NBA season is marked by NBA All Star 2000, the traditional festival of all that’s best in the world’s best league, held in Oakland, home of the Golden State Warriors.
In the 49th NBA All Star Game, teams representing the best players from the Eastern Conference take on their counterparts from the Western Conference. The starting fives are determined by fan ballot while the reserves are selected by the head coaches. Usually the game is a celebration of offensive skills so that opens things up and means a feast of great moves.
Imagine, last year’s rookie of the year and this season’s most outstanding individual so far Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors teaming up in the Eastern Conference starting five alongside Grant Hill (Detroit Pistons), Alonzo Mourning (Miami Heat), Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers) and Eddie Jones (Charlotte Hornets).
And the Western Conference team starts with the Minnesota Timberwolves superb forward Kevin Garnett lining up with last season’s MVP Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs), Shaquille O’Neal (LA Lakers), Jason Kidd (Phoenix Suns) and Kobe Bryant (Lakers).
And look at the quality players on each bench. The East have the likes of Jerry Stackhouse (Detroit), Dikembe Mutombo (Atlanta Hawks) and Reggie Miller (Indiana Pacers). The West can counter with stellar names such as David Robinson (Spurs), Rasheed Wallace (Portland Trail Blazers) and John Stockton (Utah Jazz).
It couldn’t be any more star-studded. At first glance the Western lineup have a clear advantage in size but the East make up for that with speed and dexterity. Bearing in mind that this is normally a high-offence game with lots of goal attempts, it would appear to favour the East. But on the other hand how will the East’s little men stop the West’s giants charging through the lane.
It will be a fascinating clash of styles. The West will be coached by Phil Jackson of the Lakers while the East are coached by Jeff Van Gundy of the Knicks.
NBA All Star 2000 also includes a host of other events including the return of the Slam Dunk contest, the 2-Ball and the Shootout, which will feature in STAR Sports’ coverage.
The Dunk contest emphasises the sheer athleticism and style of players they take it to the hole but there will be a new wrinkle this time as teammates will be allowed to add assists to the dunkers.
The participants are Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady (Toronto), Steve Francis (Houston Rockets), Larry Hughes (Philadelphia), Antawn Jamison (Golden State Warriors) and Jerry Stackhouse.
In the Shootout, where players have 60 seconds in which to shoot 25 balls from five stations around the three-point arc, Jeff Hornacek of the Utah Jazz will be attempting to become the fourth two-time winner by defending the title he won in 1998. He will be competing with Ray Allen (Milwaukee Bucks), Mike Bibby (Vancouver Grizzlies), Hubert Davis (Dallas Mavericks), Allen Iverson, Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas), Terry Porter (San Antonio) and Bob Sura (Cleveland Cavaliers).
The second ever 2-Ball contest pairs NBA players with female players from the WNBA to form a two-person team in a half-court game. It is essentially a one-minute competition involving basic skills such as shooting, rebounding, dribbling and passing and requires players to shoot from seven specific positions around the court. No player can take successive shots. Each shooting position on the floor carries differing points values.
Cynthia Cooper of the Houston Comets won the 1998 title when she was paired with Clyde Drexler. This time she joins another Houston Rockets player, Steve Francis. The other pairings are: Grant Hill and Jennifer Azzi (Detroit), Derek Fisher and Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles), Allan Houston and Becky Hammon (New York), Jason Kidd and Jennifer Gillom (Phoenix), Jason Williams and Yolanda Griffith (Sacramento), Jeff Hornacek and Natalie Williams (Utah) and Richard Hamilton and Chamique Holdsclaw (Washington).
It all adds up to fantastic festival of basketball on ESPN and STAR Sports.
NBA All Star Saturday- LIVE on STAR Sports
Feb 13 09:00 (L) – 20:30 (R): NBA All-Star Saturday Night
49th NBA All Star Game – LIVE on ESPN
Feb 14 07:30 (L) – 20:00 (R): NBA All-Star Game
All times Hong Kong/ Singapore. Schedule subject to change.
For the latest schedules and program information on ESPN STAR Sports, catch us on the net at www.espnstar.com
Or contact Edward Yip, Program Publicity Manager at:
Phone: (65) 488 6422 Fax: (65) 488 6308 Email: yipe@espnstar.com