NEW YORK, January 28th – NBA All-Star 2004 will showcase the world’s greatest athlete playing the world’s greatest game, but it will also celebrate the league’s tradition and commitment to community outreach with a week’s worth of community service events taking place throughout the Los Angeles area.

NBA All-Star 2004 will highlight the league’s grassroots and community programs that reach millions of young people and their parents and work to improve the quality of life for all people. Each year the league, its players and its teams donate millions of dollars and thousands of hours to charities and community endeavors.

To celebrate these efforts and programs, NBA All-Star 2004 will feature:

MONDAY, February 9 - NBA Read to Achieve Reading Caravan
The Read to Achieve Caravan will be filled with NBA legends, WNBA stars, NBA family members and Read to Achieve All-Stars who will travel throughout Los Angeles to promote the joy and importance of reading with visits to Miles Avenue Elementary School in Huntington Park, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and Foshay Elementary in Los Angeles.

TUESDAY, February 10 - Basketball and Books with The Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA; Nike court unveiling
The Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA, presented by Gatorade and Nike, will play host to hundreds of children from Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA member leagues with a series of Basketball & Books clinics. At each clinic site, NBA legends and WNBA stars will provide instruction on the benefits of an active lifestyle, reinforce the importance of reading and work with the kids on basketball fundamentals. In addition to the clinics, a new court that has been refurbished by the NBA and Nike, made partially from recycled Nike sneakers, will be dedicated at the Eastside Boys and Girls Club.

WEDNESDAY, February 11 - WNBA Mind. Body. Spirit. Challenge
The WNBA and its players will bring their Mind. Body. Spirit program to the 10th Street Elementary School/Salvation Army Youth & Community Center. The players will talk to the school’s 5th graders about the importance of good nutrition, regular exercise and a positive attitude. The students will compete against each other in interactive challenges based on their existing school health/physical education curriculum and materials provided by the WNBA. The event will feature prominent WNBA players as well as local VIP’s from the political, sports and entertainment world.

WEDNESDAY, February 11 – NWBA Wheelchair Basketball Clinic
Some of the world’s best wheelchair basketball players who make up the East and West squads from the National Wheelchair Basketball Association All-Star basketball teams will host a clinic for 50 physically challenged youth from Los Angeles at the Alpine Recreation Center.

THURSDAY, February 12 - NBA All-Star Legacy Project
The NBA, NBA legends and players from the Clippers and Lakers will help dedicate a new Reading and Learning Center at the Los Angeles Boys and Girls Club and unveil the extensive renovations they have done to improve the club’s facility at the annual NBA All-Star Legacy Project. In addition to a new technology lab, the Reading and Learning Center will provide thousands of donated books, resource guides and materials to the hundreds of children who are members of this Boys & Girls Club.

THURSDAY, February 12 - National Wheelchair Basketball Association All-Star Game
It’s an East vs. West showdown as the top wheelchair basketball players in the world meet in the fifth NWBA All-Star Classic on Center Court at NBA All-Star Jam Session, which will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. NBA Legends and WNBA stars will join the classic as honorary coaches.

FRIDAY, February 13 - Read to Achieve Reading Rally
More than 800 local school children will join NBA & WNBA players, legends and celebrities for a fun filled educational experience that will celebrate the students’ involvement in the Lakers and Clippers Read to Achieve programs. The Reading Rally will take place at NBA All-Star Jam Session at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

SATURDAY, February 14 - NBA All-Star Read to Achieve Celebration
The culmination of the week’s community events will take place on Saturday morning at NBA All-Star Jam Session, when more than 2,000 young people from local schools and community organizations gather to hear some of the music world’s hottest acts, stars from the NBA and WNBA and celebrities from film and television share their love of reading at the Read to Achieve Celebration. The Read to Achieve Celebration will air on Saturday, February 14 at 12 NOON ET/9 a.m. PT and will be simulcast on ABC, TNT, BET, Nick GAS, NBA TV, AOL Broadband, RealOne SuperPass, NBA.com's Inside Ticket and MTV (Canada), and will be televised at a later date on Disney Channel, Telemundo and mun2.

The NBA All-Star game will feature the top players from the Eastern and Western conferences going head to head on Sunday, February 15, 2004 at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. The 53rd NBA All-Star game will air on TNT at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

In addition to the All-Star Game and surrounding community events, NBA All-Star will also feature NBA Jam Session, an excitement-filled fan event that captures the sights, sounds and action of the NBA. Jam Session provides fans of all ages with the opportunity to experience the many different facets of the NBA. The hours of operation for the NBA All-Star Jam Session are as follows: Thursday, February 12, 4:00pm-10:00pm; Friday, February 13, 9:00am-3:00pm; Saturday, February 14, 9:00am-10:00pm; Sunday, February 15, 9:00am-5:00pm; Monday, February 16, 9:00am-5:00pm.

Tickets for NBA All-Star Jam Session are on sale now and are available at all Ticketmaster ticket outlets, Ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster charge-by-phone and at the STAPLES Center box office. Ticket prices are $20 for adults and $12 for children (ages 3-12) and senior citizens (62 and up). Tickets will be sold on a timed entry basis with availability for every hour on the hour. Once you are in Jam Session you are welcome to experience all of the sights, sounds and action of NBA All-Star 2004 for as long as you wish.