The hour-long show, simulcast from the Pennsylvania Convention Center on seven networks – NBC, TNT, Nickelodeon, Nick GAS, BET and NBA TV in the U.S. and MuchMusic in Canada, will be hosted by “NBA Inside Stuff” host and executive producer Ahmad Rashad and co-host Summer Sanders. Dave Aizer, host of Nick GAS and Nickelodeon’s “Slimetime Live,” will serve as entertainment sideline reporter.
Among the celebrities and participants in the Celebration: Carson Daly of MTV’s “Total Request Live” and host of NBC’s Last Call with Carson Daly,” Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominee Frankie Muniz, AJ and Free of BET’s “106 and Park,” NBA stars Shane Battier and Mike Miller, and WNBA star Dawn Staley.
This event is a celebration of reading and a highlight of the NBA's Read to Achieve program, the centerpiece of the league’s community relations efforts. Launched in May 2001, Read to Achieve is a year-round, league-wide initiative supported by all 29 NBA teams, 16 WNBA teams, and eight National Basketball Development League teams that promotes the value of reading and on-line literacy and encourages families and adults to read regularly with young children.
Thousands of students from the greater Philadelphia area will earn special invitations to the Pennsylvania Convention Center for the Celebration as reward for their participation in local reading programs. The students and television audiences in the U.S. and Canada will be entertained by some of today’s top music acts, NBA and WNBA players, and television and movie stars.
The NBA All-Star Read to Achieve Celebration is part of NBA All-Star 2002, which is hosted by the Philadelphia 76ers and takes place in Philadelphia from February 8-10. NBA All-Star 2002 includes NBA All-Star Saturday Night on February 9 and the 51st Annual NBA All-Star Game on February 10, as well as a week’s worth of outreach to the greater Philadelphia community leading up to the weekend.
