February 10, 2002

I didn't do much last night. We got out of practice yesterday and it was like, 4 o'clock and I had to go take a shower, eat room service right quick and come back here for All-Star Saturday night. I wound up leaving here at 11-11:30 and my day was over. I did two things yesterday and it took up the entire day. That was the most surprising thing, I thought, about making the All-Star team was the amount of stuff that you have to do.

O'Neal arrives at the arena in a spiffy off-white suit. Maurice Brown/NBAE/Getty Images

Finally, I went out to the players' party, but I was too tired to stay so I came back.

Today, I got up at nine because my ankle was swollen when I woke up this morning from practice yesterday. That was the first practice I've had since I hurt it. So I was up doing some rehab all morning – icing, stretching, icing, stretching – and then putting the heat pads on it and taking my medication. Everything kind of happened really quickly. You get here, you do a couple of things, you play and you go back home.

I got dressed in my suit to wear to the arena. I didn't pick it specially or anything for today. I just reached in the closet. To be honest, the company that makes my suits – Dion Scott – I've got to give those guys a shout-out. They did a nice job. I just reached in there and grabbed the first one that I saw. I guess it's a good fit for me. I got a lot of compliments.

In the locker room before the game, it was just guys joking around, trying to make each other feel right at home. We had a lot of first-timers in here. The guys just told me to go out, have fun, enjoy the game – and don't get hurt. I was surprised that I wasn't nervous at all before the game. I was more eager to get in the game than being nervous. But I've got 15 more years of this and I'm going to keep getting better.

O'Neal finished the game with seven points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes. Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images

It felt so good during the player introductions. I think that was the biggest thing that I wanted to experience, just being on the little podium and being introduced for the first time as an All-Star.

The game was cool. Obviously we wanted to win, but it didn't work out. It was fun. It was really fun. I got a chance to get out there and make something happen with the guys – and now I'll see those guys next week and the rest of the season. There wasn't anything anyone did really that surprised me in this game. Everybody can play. I was surprised how many baskets Kobe made so early. He did a great job tonight. Well deserving of the MVP.

I'm a little worried about my ankle. It hurt early. It hurt really bad. I wanted to block a shot when I first got in the game and man, I thought I had to come out. I just have to keep icing it, keep taking my medication and it will get better.

It was great this weekend just being around the guys. Being around these guys. Having my family, my daughter watching me play. That was the best part because my family knows the struggles I've had to keep up. But I got this done. The biggest thing I learned from my first All-Star experience is keeping the off-the-court stuff that you don't have to do, keeping it to a minimum. Because you'll get worn out. It's like I can't wait to get on the plane and just go back home so I can rest. I'll handle that differently next year.

Tonight I'm actually sticking around. I'm going to take my family out to dinner and then get back to the hotel. I think I might try to go to a party tonight. And then just get back to Indy and get to practice.

All in all, I've got to give this whole weekend an A+

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