All-Star Weekend

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Anthony Davis sank the game-winning free throw to give Team LeBron the victory over Team Giannis. The i new format injected life into the All-Star game as the fourth quarter reached a level of competitiveness we haven't seen in years.

They finally put the game back in All-Star game, and it happened Sunday night in the United Center in a 157-155 Team (West) LeBron victory over Team (East) Giannis in the annual NBA All-Star game.

What in recent years had been an impersonation of the game that mocked its artistry and competition, a new format in a legendary basketball city returned dignity to the event and excitement to the spectators.

Especially in a fourth quarter in which there basically were few substitutions, players drew charges and coaches called for challenges to official verdicts. Players virtually had to be restrained questioning officials and the best players and captains, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokunmpo, faced off against one another on defense, Antetokounmpo blocking James' scoring attempt and James following Antetokounmpo the other 94 feet to cause a turnover. Fighting off fatigue and the emotion from the tributes to Kobe Bryant, about whom James said lent a spiritual presence to the game, the game finally ended in the revised format without a clock and with a target score as Anthony Davis made the second of two free throws in a tie game with each team needing a point or basket to win.

Giannis Antetokounmpo guards LeBron James in the fourth quarter of the 2020 All-Star game.

Though there also were the theatrics as Davis told the post game TV interview that he told teammates he would intentionally miss the first free throw to put more pressure on himself in something of a symbol of the game.

The All-Stars came to Chicago, and what do you know, a basketball game broke out.

"The new format was amazing," said Davis. "The game was fun. Bringing defense back to the game. Bringing excitement back to the game. We all loved it. I was happy that I was able to be the one to knock down the free throw to seal it. Joel Embiid was trying to say that we shouldn't have been able to win on a free throw, but, hey, that wasn't in the rulebook. He shouldn't have fouled me.

Anthony Davis sinks the game-winning free throw to give Team LeBron the win.

"I feel like playing in the end was a playoff game," Davis added. "It was a great competition. Chicago held it down. They held it down this weekend. They showed the league and everyone around the world about our Chicago history, the city. Everyone enjoyed it and you kind of respect Chicago a little bit more."

Kawhi Leonard with 30 points and eight threes won the inaugural Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP award for LeBron's winning team. James and Chris Paul each had 23 for the victors and Davis 20. Paul made seven threes as the LeBron team attempted 70 to 40 for the Giannis. For the Giannis team in the third year of the leading vote getters choosing All-Star players like in a playground game, Antetokounmpo led his team with 25 points. Kemba Walker had 23, Joel Embiid 22 and Rudy Gobert 21.

Though the teams virtually matched Eastern and Western Conferences.

The new format was suggested by players association president Paul to enhance the competitive level. And it worked as it produced one of the best games in many years. Still, there still were flaws. There was no natural division other than conferences, which made the teams somewhat confusing. There were just three players from opposite conferences —all reserves—on each team. The competitive result suggests a return to East versus West might be more natural. The teams wore either No. 24 or No. 2 to honor Bryant and his daughter, which obviously was a one-time tribute. But it made it difficult to many fans to determine who was scoring without an announcement. It became easier to identify the teams as red and blue.

But the result and the experience was a big time win for the NBA, fans and Chicago as James also praised the city's basketball roots.

"Chicago is right up there with one of the top cities in the world with producing some of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game," James declared. "You've even got Ben Wilson, who was on his way to being a star and obviously we know the story about that. So you got it all the way from the grade school era through high school (and) through college. And then so many pros and so many Hall of Famers. K.G. is about to go into the Hall of Fame soon. I seen his name on the ballot and he's from Chicago. The great Isiah Thomas. D-Wade at some point will go into the Hall of Fame. My teammate Anthony Davis right now will go in the Hall of Fame. This city is right up there as one of the best cities in the world as far as producing the best players we've ever seen."

LeBron James finished with 23 points in the 2020 All-Star game.

So it was only appropriate the All-Stars produced one of the best All-Star games, at least in this recent era.

With the helicopter tragedy that killed Bryant, daughter Gigi and seven others, there were respects paid to Bryant throughout the weekend and during the game, including the symbolic uniform numbers, eight seconds of silence for his initial jersey number, an opening song from Jennifer Hudson dedicated to the victims after a Magic Johnson homage. There also were remembrances dedicated to commissioner emeritus David Stern, who died last month. The canopy was the United Center flickering like a bright night sky illuminated by stars from the blinking lights multi-colored wrist bands held by spectators.

Though perhaps the actions of the players and not the words delivered the ultimate tribute to Stern and that Bryant would have welcomed most with the fierce competition, defense, steals and blocks providing the structure for the oohs and aahs. The game began to restore the credibility that Stern so desired for his weekend extravaganza and the soul and spirit of play that drove Bryant.

"Me and Russ (Westbrook) kept talking about it," said Paul. "That's one thing about Kobe. Whenever he was on our team in the All- Star Game, there wasn't none of that cool stuff. There wasn't none of that. It was like, as long as they throw the ball up, let's get to it."

And for the most part they did get to it after an exploratory first quarter of half court lob dunk play that resembled other desultory mid season games that were not such classics.

"Probably one of the best All-Star games ever," said Embiid, still a little annoyed about the loss. "Guys competed. It came down to basically the last shot. I don't agree that you should be able to win on a free throw, but overall it was a lot of fun. Besides the first quarter, I felt like everybody was playing hard. It was competitive."

"Especially in the fourth quarter, the defense got tighter," agreed Antetokounmpo. "Guys were hitting one another. Every possession counts. We had a little bit of playoff intensity out there. I hope we can keep the same format for a lot of years. Offensively, we were just trying to find whoever James Harden was guarding. That's who we thought we'd have the opportunity to score on."

It wasn't quite playoff worthy until the fourth quarter with the so called Elam Ending that is used in some summer tournaments and was suggested by a Ball State U. professor. Teams play to a final total without a clock, the NBA picking 24 points on top of the team leading total after three quarters. The Giannis/East team led 133-124 after three quarters in a format that started each quarter at 0-0. Quarters were played for charity with students representing Chicago Scholars and After School Matters. After an even third quarter, the charity money carried over to the fourth with the Chicago Scholars the victors. TV views of worried kids were priceless late in the game as the kids rushed the winning team as the game ended. The NBA does some good schmaltz, also.

"It was dope," said former Bull Jimmy Butler, who received a loud welcome for the Giannis team. "Damn sure got to compete at the end. It's still fun to go out there and be known as one of the best players in the world in this league. Hopefully it stays like that."

Miami Heat forward and former Bull Jimmy Butler had 4 points off the bench for Team Giannis.

Common, the Chicago native hip hop superstar, cleverly delivered the player introductions in a rap style.

"He handles the rock like Gibraltar, Kemba Walker."

"Like a protest on the court, he's an all-time interrupter. Give it up for Jimmy Butler."

"A league MVP who breaks ankles with no pardon, the league's leading scorer James Harden."

"He's a two-time All-Star so you know he'll get it done, from the Milwaukee Bucks Khris Middle-ton."

"KIA's Most Improved Player and tonight he's ready to rock ‘em, give it up for Pascal Siakam."

No, there haven't been many All-Star nights like this one.

Though there weren't any Bulls players in the game, the organization was intimately involved. Trainer Jeff Tanaka and his staff were with the Giannis team. Bulls stats staff regulars Pam Kunkel, Karen Ogean and crew worked the press rooms. Bob Rosenberg did his third Chicago All-Star game after 1973 and 1988. There were other familiar faces with former Bulls assistants Jim Sann and Adrian Griffin on the Raptors staff as coaches. Chicagoan Marc Davis was lead referee. Chicagoan Chaka Khan delivered a soulful national anthem. The players left the locker room to a "one-two-three Mamba" salute.

Chicago native Kanye West sat courtside of the All-Star game next to his wife Kim Kardashian and rapper J. Cole.

Former Bull Scottie Pippen got a huge ovation when introduced at center court with several Hall of Famers and Bill Russell in the stands. Celebrities were scattered about near the court, including Jon Stewart, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West, Donnie Wahlberg, Spike Lee, Chadwick Boseman, Cardi B, and Chris Tucker.

The LeBron team in blue won the first quarter easily 53-41 in a casual All-Star way with Leonard making four three pointers with lots of lob dunks being admired. But also several worthy of gasps with fast break dunk finishes and underhand lobs high over the rim that were bashed through. It wasn't quite Isiah and Magic on the break, but there were enough behind the backs and look aways to take a look again.

Antetokounmpo with the red team turned the game 51-30 in the second quarter as he scored 14 points and you got the feeling the LeBrons wanted to make sure the other guys got some charity money. It was the Giannises leading 92-83 at halftime and then a Chance the Rapper halftime show with Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled and Quavo.

The game began to turn after halftime in a 41-41 third quarter, though the teams both were shooting above 50 percent through three, the Giannis team 59 percent. They would shoot 26 percent in the fourth quarter.

The NBA with the quarter scores hoped to get more urgency, and it did at the end of the third quarter with an intentional foul and some last seconds strategy. The fourth then became a gift to the game, LeBron trying some long threes for a dramatic close like Magic in the 1992 All-Star game and eventually a spin and dunk to get within a point. The Giannises still were four points away from the target 157. So Embiid got inside and was fouled, making both. Now they both needed a basket. Harden broke free to the basket and surprise, surprise, passed the ball. It circled the perimeter to James, who found Davis inside and was fouled by Kyle Lowry, who had previously earned the ball back with the kinds of charges that would have made Ryan Arcidiacono jealous. Yes, got a Bulls guy into the All-Star story!

"I didn't know what to expect because it was a new format, new year," said James. "None of us knew what to expect. But throughout the whole fourth quarter and at the end of the game, everybody was like, ‘That was pretty damn fun.'"

instant-classic-breaks-out-in-chicago-as-team-lebron-defeats-team-giannis-in-2020-all-star-game

Instant Classic breaks out in Chicago as Team LeBron defeats Team Giannis in 2020 All-Star game

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Bulls.com

Despite putting up a respectable score in the three-point contest, Zach LaVine was unable to advance in the Finals round of the three-point contest but still enjoyed representing Chicago in this year's All-Star weekend.

Zach LaVine sat waiting and watching as the threes were dropping like stones down a well, Devin Booker, Buddy Hield and Davis Bertans putting up historic first round scores in the All-Star three-point shooting competition. There were two extra shots this year, but Booker and Hield had scored 27s and Bertans a 26. Only three shooters advanced.

The United Center crowd was on LaVine's side and his confidence was surging. "I heard the crowd ovation," acknowledged LaVine, the Bulls only competitor in the All-Star weekend events. "But I was looking at that rim; I was locked in."

So when LaVine's turn came seventh among the eight participants, he was calm and ready to go. "I'd done the All-Star (dunk) contest twice, so I'm used to the atmosphere, the pressure, the bright lights," LaVine said. "If you're confident in what you do and you put the work in there shouldn't be anything to be nervous at. You should be anxious to go out and do it."

So LaVine turned to Booker and declared, ‘I'm going for 30 right now'. My mind was, ‘I'm getting 30."

Zach LaVine represents the Bulls in the three-point contest.

LaVine got close, but not close enough, and it perhaps was a strategic misjudgments that at least denied him a chance for a shootout to break a third place tie. LaVine tied Bertans with 17 made shots in the 27 attempts. Hield had 19 in the first round and Booker 18. LaVine failed to made enough of his bonus two and three-point balls and dropped to fourth place and out of the competition.

Hield would go on to defeat Booker by making his last shot in the next and final round for two points for a 27-26 win. Bertans was third with 22 points.

"I was ready to go; I was preparing for it," LaVine said. "What hurt me was the money ball rack."

Players selected which five-ball rack they wanted for the balls to be worth two points each instead of four for one point and the fifth for two points. There were two special green balls added this year for three points each. LaVine placed his money ball rack at the top of the key and made just two of five. Bertans made all five in his money ball rack.

Zach had a hot start in the three-point competition but was unable to advance to the Finals round.

"If you make four of those, the rest of them don't matter," LaVine explained. "The money ball and getting off to a hot start was what I was banking on. I just didn't do that. If I could have changed it around, I would have put the money ball in the corner (where LaVine made all 10 attempts). I would have put them last. My thinking was I start off hot and that's how I was practicing and the middle shots you can get to 20 points and then coast all the way through."

It didn't happen that way, though LaVine did finish ahead of defending champion Joe Harris, Trae Young, Duncan Robinson and Devonte' Graham.

"I had to do something here. I really wanted to be in the (Sunday) game, but it didn't work out. I had to do something for Chicago and I'm glad I did."

The first event of the evening of contests was the Skills Challenge, which Miami's Bam Adebayo won in the finals over Domantas Sabonis. The contest is an obstacle course of dribbing, passing and a three-point shot. Adebayo had been one of 11 on threes for the season. He made his third attempt. Chicago's Patrick Beverley and former Windy City player Spencer Dinwiddie were among the contestants.

There was some controversy—if there can be such a thing for an exhibition, though the dunk contest from 1988 in Chicago has a history —when Miami's Derrick Jones Jr. won in an overtime round over Orlando's Aaron Gordon. Many believed Gordon should have won when he lost to LaVine in 2016, LaVine's second win. Gordon produced perfect scores on five dunks, but scoring started again in each round and in the so called dunk off Gordon received a 47 of 50 despite dunking when jumping over Boston's 7-6 Tacko Fall. It appeared to be a judging conspiracy like some believe in 1988 when Chicagoan Gale Sayers was a judge. Dwyane Wade was a judge thus time and a former teammate of Jones and close with the Miami organization. Wade gave Gordon the low score along with fellow judge Scottie Pippen. Chicago musical artist Common, also a judge, told ESPN the judges agreed to a tie for that dunk off round to go one more, but someone changed their vote to deny Gordon. Dozens of NBA players weighed in on social media to contest the result.

Which is why the three-point contest is perhaps the most credible. Everyone can see the ball going in. LaVine's shooting would have gained him honors in the regular season, making 17 of 27 threes.

For this contest, they just happened not to be at precisely the right time and place.

Zach LaVine competes in the three-point contest for the first time in his career.

"I'm mad because you guys know I want to go out there and put a show on," LaVine, wearing his blue "city" Bulls jersey, said afterward. "I got off to a hot start and ended well, but it wasn't enough. That score of 27, they did a good job. They did their thing and knocked down the money balls.

"I appreciate Chicago and they know how I feel about the city," said LaVine, who said he directed All-Star players to some of his favorite pizza restaurants, Giordanos and Pequods. "I had to do something here. I really wanted to be in the (Sunday) game, but it didn't work out. I had to do something for Chicago and I'm glad I did. I wanted to bring that trophy home. I think I had a respectable score, but I didn't bring home the championship.

"Any All-Star weekend you get to be a part of is great," said LaVine. "Not everyone gets to do it. This is my third now and I'm thankful for every moment. One day the ball stops bouncing, so you just have to take it in."

Zach LaVine joined the NBA on TNT guys on set before Saturday's festivities.

Before the contests, NBA commissioner Adam Silver conducted his annual state of the NBA media conference. Silver announced that the MVP trophy for the All-Star game would be renamed for Kobe Bryant, who set records with 18 straight All-Star appearances. There are various tributes scheduled Sunday for Bryant and his family and friends because of the fatal helicopter crash that killed Bryant and eight others including a daughter. The All-Star game Sunday will have a new format with scores by quarters and a special 24-point fourth quarter goal for Bryant's number. In addition, players will wear the Nos. 24 an 2 to honor Bryant and his daughter Gianna. The trophy previously has a sponsor's name.

Silver also said he eventually expects some sort of in season tournament and indicated that former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel had a significant role in the game coming to Chicago. One of Emanuel's projects was to attract professional sports events, like the draft, to Chicago. The NFL and NBA drafts have been in Chicago. Silver also estimated the potential lost revenue to the NBA from comments by a Rockets team executive about China would probably be about $400 million.

"First of all, let me thank the Reinsdorfs, Jerry and Michael," Silver said in his opening remarks. "I think Jerry pledged he wasn't going to have another All-Star Game here and Michael convinced him. At least he tells me now he's thrilled that we're here." The Reinsdorfs were in attendance to support LaVine in the three-point contest.

"I happened to be here in Chicago the last time the All-Star Game took place here, which was 32 years ago in 1988," Silver said. "I was a law student at the University of Chicago in my third year and managed to secure tickets for All-Star Saturday and the game itself, and had an incredible experience. I also want to thank former Mayor Rahm Emanuel. He did have a lot to do with bringing the All-Star Game here. He is a very convincing person. I know he had several conversations with both the Reinsdorfs and with me, and he was very insistent that we announce that the All-Star Game was going to come here while he was still mayor.

"I strongly believe we will end up with some sort of in-season tournament and a play-in (playoff) tournament," Silver said, though he added talk of it by the league's 75th anniversary in 2022 is premature. The 75th anniversary game will be in Cleveland, the site of the 50th anniversary game. The NBA celebrated that year with a 50 greatest players team and will add 25 to that for the 2022 weekend.

"I think it also gives us a chance to look more holistically at the season," said Silver. "This issue has come up a lot related to load management, appropriate resting of players. Is 82 games the right number of games in a season? As I've said before, that's been in place for over 50 years now. The game has changed. We know more about health and physical fitness. Or even if we're playing the same number of games, should they be played over more days to provide for more rest? But …I can't say exactly when it will be."

zach-lavine-has-respectable-showing-in-all-star-3-point-contest-but-doesnt-advance

Zach LaVine has respectable showing in All-Star 3-point contest but doesn’t advance

Sam Smith

Zach LaVine's father Paul noticed his son had the potential to be special at an early age. Sam Smith details how Zach's upbringing set the course for him to become an NBA star.

Zach LaVine knows a little more than most about a three-point contest, not that he is the favorite Saturday Night during NBA All-Star weekend. It's just that LaVine, the Bulls high scoring shooting guard, has been practicing regularly for it. You know, since the fourth grade when it was just a small part of a remarkable lifelong training regimen and commitment filled with equal parts hard work and family love that took him on a unique and special path to an elite place.

Not quite the star yet in Sunday's game program, but one that appears to be peeking above the horizon of excellence and perhaps destined to shine even brighter on the world of basketball.

Zach's a two-time slam dunk contest champion. He's aiming Saturday for the unique contest double on the way to an All-Star game appearance that appears inevitable. But now third things first, the three-point competition.

Zach LaVine looks to become the first player ever to win the slam dunk contest and the three-point contest in a career.

"My dad would go around to the Goodwill stores all over Seattle and he'd get these cheap swimming pools, the little plastic ones with the fish on them," LaVine was recalling earlier this week. "Then he'd get all these different types of balls, basketballs, soccer balls and I'd have like 50, 60 balls and he'd set up the pools around the backyard and I'd continually shoot, just getting my touch. Like doing the contest. One after another filling them up with balls. I could shoot 50 in a row without having to have a rebounder since my dad was working. Then I'd pick them up and shoot 50 more. Started doing that every day around third or fourth grade."

LaVine smiled at the memory of a childhood devoted to the games, not always easy, but never a Marinovich robo-life of demands. Zach was driven, but he basically was at the steering wheel.

We were sitting in a lounge in the team hotel, LaVine in his familiar uniform of jeans with tears (though I believe he can afford ones not ripped) and a snug polo shirt. He ordered a fruit juice drink. He's filled out considerably, still slender but sinewy. His close cropped beard is filling in well, framing his bright, welcoming smile and curly brown hair. He's as approachable as NBA stars get, humble and inviting. A pro sports career became something of a combination avocation and destiny almost from the crib, though Zach admits he's still pinching himself about his blessings.

"It's been my life for so long, but I am literally living a dream," LaVine says. "I know there is going to come a point where I can't do this anymore, and it's going to kill me. So I try to take in every game and appreciate what it is. Like when we are there for the national anthem and I look around seeing little kids wearing my jersey and people saying your name. And you go out to play with 20,000 people there. I know that's not going to be forever. I'm young, but I appreciate and enjoy it. It's what's so beautiful about the sport."

So after shooting and shooting and shooting into those kiddie pools, Zach would sit down and record the session. How many were elbow shots, long shots, free throws, from 15 feet, 18 feet, 25 feet? From what angle?

"By my senior year, I had three notebooks filled with the shots," Zach said. "It's something you can go back and look at, something cool. My dad was my biggest influence. He's the reason why a lot of this stuff happened for me. He put the time in and he had a plan from the get go, when I was four, five years old. I know it sounds crazy, but he had a plan to try to make me a pro. I used to be in the car and he'd have me do interviews. I'd play in a Little League game and he'd interview me in the car. I didn't understand at the time, but he'd have me talking into a microphone. ‘You didn't have a good day today, Zach. What was the problem?' This and that so I can get prepared. When I was in third and fourth grade I took shots before the game like we do at shootaround, did what pros did. After the game, I went and shot. But it wasn't weird to me because I really liked it. I just thought it was normal and everyone did this.

"He saw the ability and drive I had," says LaVine. "I was never ranked in the top 100. I was never the big recruit in high school. I started growing a little bit, though before I had to play point guard. But I had the drive.

"I don't want to say I was sheltered, but I didn't have a lot of friends growing up," LaVine explained. "I didn't go to a lot of sleepovers. I didn't go to a lot of parties. I had one girlfriend my entire life. I met her when I was a junior in high school and we've been together since, Hunter. Basketball has been my life. I enjoyed the process, and seeing where I am now enjoying the fruits of these labors is such a big thing."

Zach LaVine sits at a photo shoot on the first day of All-Star weekend.

Paul LaVine never really planned to be a basketball sculptor. Sure, he'd played some professional football, the USFL, NFL tryouts and a season during the 1987 strike, Canada, overseas. Getting hurt in a tryout with the Oakland Raiders finally ended it. He'd had a tough adolescence, not always proud of everything he'd done, though more embarrassing than criminal. But mostly unsupervised after his parents divorced, he never trained much, partied too much. Regrets, he has more than a few. He'd work at his construction job and advise his kids, but then he began to notice some unusual things about young Zachary.

"He started walking at about six months, doing things other babies weren't doing," Paul says. "I'd take him to the park and put him on the monkey bars and he'd hold himself for 30 seconds at four, five years old. I played softball (in a pro league) and a guy had a baseball bat on his shirt. Zach would be trying to grab it to swing the bat from the picture. I'm thinking, ‘This kid is different.' In second grade he was going to the park to play sixth grade kids for money. He'd come home proud about $10. He always was playing two, three, four years ahead."

Though Paul was a muscular linebacker at Utah State and in the pros, he also was an accomplished softball player in high level leagues. Zach followed dad. Baseball was his best sport and Paul began to believe Zach might have a career. At least be able to get a college scholarship. The family wasn't poor, but Paul and wife C.J. both worked, C.J. two jobs at times so, as Zach said, they could get one Christmas present and stay on the AAU circuit. "Sports saved me, kept me out of the bad stuff," says Paul. "Sports and a scholarship got me out of the bad neighborhood I came from. With Zach we were living in a suburb of Seattle (Renton), so it wasn't like that. It was first about the scholarship. I told him we are going to get you to college. From there you have to figure it out.

"I always told him to chase his dreams," Paul said. "That's what he did. I remember one time they had one of those career days in school and a teacher in fourth grade asked what he wanted to be. He said he wanted to be an NBA star. The teacher told him to write down something more realistic. He came home and said, ‘The teacher wants me to be a policeman or fireman.' Me and my wife went to school and said that was my son's dream, so don't mess it up; that's what he wants to be."

Paul's message was always the same: Pursue your dream and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Work hard and you'll get the results. And even if you don't, you can't hang your head because you gave it everything you could. When Zach was drafted No. 13 by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2014, his mom sewed the quote in his lining: "I didn't say it would be easy; I just said it would be worth it."

Zach hanging out at an "NBA on TNT" themed set on the first day of All-Star weekend.

Michael Jordan's Space Jam movie became the turning point for Zach's sports career, though he didn't commit to basketball until about ninth grade. Paul told him in this era to concentrate on one sport. It was basketball. Space Jam was released in late 1996 and when Zach saw it and the road to adulthood cleared. Little Zach watched the movie repeatedly until the VCR tape literally wore out. Paul picked up Jordan tapes and Kobe Bryant tapes, Zach's two idols, and Zach mimicked the two endlessly along with a Breaking Ankles tape. Zach did the usual routine, travel teams and backyard games, but also the training that wasn't so routine. There were quickness drills and explosion drills from Paul's football days, discipline, repetition, muscle memory. There was a morning run before school, getting up 250-300 shots after school, then basketball practice, then recovery like in the pros. Every day.

"He wanted to do it," Paul says. "I never had to tell him you have to go out and shoot; he just wanted to. I was worried about the Marinovich example (a parent pushing a child to exhaustion and defeat). I was kind of hard on Zach. I had a talk with my wife about it. I did let him know when he did something wrong and sometimes in a harsh way.

"The first thing is you have to be honest and let them know what they are doing wrong. I have only stood up and cheered for Zach once," Paul said. "It was the second dunk contest when he went between legs. I'd seen him practice that and he missed all the time. When he did it I jumped up and everyone looked at me and said, ‘You don't cheer.' I never wanted to let him know he was better than what he was. I always sat on the opposite side at his high school games so I could hear the criticism of what they said about Zach and we could work on that. Zach would say he could score 50 points and his dad would find something wrong. I'd tell him he did good, but we have to work on something else. I told him when he gets older the coaches are going to be worse than I am."

It was loving, but not gauzy. This wasn't fathers playing catch with sons, cue the music from Field of Dreams. This was more intense.

"Remember when Thibodeau first came to Minnesota," Paul asked. "Remember what Zach said? He said, ‘I dealt with my dad. Thibodeau ain't close to my dad.' But every night before he went to bed I made sure I asked him if he wanted to keep doing this. And I made sure I told him I loved him."

Zach LaVine dunks against the Atlanta Hawks as Vince Carter looks on.

Zach's life beyond his profession is his family, two sisters and a couple of friends, his mom and dad, a god sister and a close friend of his dad's. After the season, they all usually go somewhere in the Caribbean. "I'm like a big kid," says Zach. "I like the water slides and playing video games. My dad sits around and plays the penny slots all day. Mom and my girlfriend go shopping. I love it."

When the 6-5 guard signed his big contract with the Bulls, he believed it was payback time. A house of their choice and dreams anywhere they wanted. Florida, California? Paul picked a remote seven-acre parcel in Snohomish, north of Seattle. Zach was mystified. Of all places? But Paul envisioned something of a training complex with football and basketball facilities, recreation activities like paintball, gyms and a weight room. So Zach goes back to dad and mom for the summer.

"All he wants to do is be around his family," Paul says with a laugh. "I don't understand it. He goes out to eat with his girlfriend who's going to be his future wife and he always says, ‘Dad, let's go out to eat, dad let's go to a movie.'"

Paul didn't have that father around, so he wanted to be there for his kids. Paul quit his construction job when it wouldn't give him much time at home to work with Zach. He gave up softball and started a delivery business. On days off, Zach would join him for the drives around Seattle.

"Those were some of my favorite things to do," Zach recalls. "In the car talking about basketball and things I wanted to do when I got older and the plan. Listening to rap music. My dad would rap to me and I would try to, also. That was fun, real fun.

"It would be, ‘Zach, you want to come over and hang out? Zach, you want to go to this party?' I was never into all that stuff," said LaVine. "I was content with what I was doing."

It was working out, the daily regimen, the demands. And yes, the disputes, the criticism, the welcome-to-real-life times.

"I love my dad to death, but I'm not saying growing up was easiest thing. He would get on me after games. I've been called every name in the book, which also is why confrontation doesn't bug me," says Zach. "No coach can break me because I've been called the worst things in the world by my dad since third grade. But I never got burned out. I loved it. I'd keep asking him to go with me, ‘Hey man, let's go shoot.' Go hit 200 baseballs. It never was him pushing me; it was me wanting to do it. After he got off a nine-hour day he didn't have to spend two, three hours with me. But he was looking out for me and from a young age I understood that. I won't say there weren't arguments, but I know he loved me and we'd wake up and do it again. My dad always said people are going to have their doubts about you; there are going to be critics. You get to pick your life."

Zach admits school was difficult for him. "It's probably not the best way of thinking about it, but I knew to play basketball I had to get grades. I had to take the SAT like four or five times. I was good at reading and writing, but I couldn't get math at all. It took me about four or five times to get the right score on the math section to go to UCLA. I got a 2.8 in high school, but college I had 3.0. I was getting used to it, but I was focused on basketball."

Coming from the suburbs south of Seattle, even a Mr. Basketball, Zach was overlooked. No McDonald's all-American, barely into the top 50 collegiate prospects after a broken hip joint in high school. Sixth man on his UCLA team. Then as a pro, you know, just a dunker, can't defend, selfish scorer, not a No. 1 guy. He's heard it all, yet he continues to get better, improving his game and his scoring every season, which is a sign of the elite talents. Can you come back better? LaVine has from averaging 10.1 points as a rookie to 25.3 this season and remaining one of the game's great athletes despite the severe anterior cruciate knee injury.

"I know who I am and I put the work in, so I can't worry what others say. I'm not doing it for them. I'm doing it for my family to get in position where they don't have to work anymore and for my kids' kids," says LaVine. "I'm doing it for me. I love the game of basketball. Obviously you want individual accolades, but I want individual and team success because I know it all goes into one. I've gotten overlooked, but it's a lesson for everyone. A lot of people feel that way and experience that.

"What matters is it won't stop me from going out and doing what I want to do," say LaVine. "You either give in to others' judgments or you show who you are and what you can do. I know who I am every time I step on the court. I'm going to continue to work on my shortcomings in basketball because that's how I was raised and I want to be a compete player, an All-Star, an all-NBA guy. I want to be great. Peoples' verdicts or opinions are not going to stop my progress."

It seems like LaVine has been around for a long time, and it is his sixth NBA season. But he missed almost two years with the injury and is still only 24. He's improved every year in almost all facets of the game.

"I have been living my dream," LaVine says. "I went through the injury with my knee and the game got taken from me. I came to Chicago and got the opportunity to be a No. 1 player and when opportunity knocks you've got to open the door. I feel each year I've developed and gotten better and I am going to continue to do that going forward."

zach-lavine-credits-his-father-and-tough-love-for-the-player-he-is-today

Zach LaVine credits his father and tough love for the player he is today

In honor of Chicago hosting All-Star weekend for the first time in 32 years, Sam Smith looks back at the 1988 All-Star weekend in Chicago Stadium, one of the greatest in NBA history.

The stars were aligned perhaps like never before for the 1988 All-Star game in Chicago. The slam dunk contest that had been purloined from the old American Basketball Association and repatriated in the NBA in 1984 reached its zenith with the Michael Jordan/Dominique Wilkins dunk off that remains debated to this day. It was the only time the game's acknowledged two greatest dunkers appeared against one another in an exhibition contest. The shooting competition produced the drama of the all-time king, Larry Bird, going for his third consecutive crown and then walking off signaling victory on his last shot with the ball still in the air. There was the entertainment peak with Jay Leno from Tonight Show fame headlining at the French baroque style Chicago Theatre, known originally as the Wonder Theatre of the World, State Street lit up like from the days of Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Frank Sinatra. And then the game featuring a lineup of star talent rarely matched, Jordan, Bird, Wilkins, Ewing, Barkley, McHale, Thomas and Moses Malone for the East and Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, Karl Malone, Aguirre, Olajuwon, Worthy and Drexler for the West. Then Jordan went out in the precursor to the famed flu game and led his team to victory in challenging Wilt Chamberlain's all-time scoring records. There may never have been an All-Star weekend like it before or since. The NBA All-Star festival returns to Chicago this weekend for the first time since 1988 and this is how they remembered the roar and the culmination of the roarin' 80s.

The NBA featured a variety of contests before the All-Star Saturday Night of the dunk and three-point contests became entrenched. There was a one-on-one tournament in the early 1970s that culminated with a TV finals around the time of the All-Star game. There were a few old timers games in the late 1950s and early 1960s. When the NBA brought back the dunk contest in 1984 (the three-point shootout began in 1986), it combined that with a Legends game featuring the likes of Oscar Robertson, Bob Cousy, Roger Brown, Connie Hawkins, Bob Pettit, Pete Maravich and Earl Monroe. The game lasted from 1984 through 1993, replaced afterward by the Rising Stars game of the top rookies and sophomores. The originally titled Rookie Challenge came with offshoots like the Skills Challenge and variations with old timers and WNBA players. That came about after several in the legends game suffered serious injuries in Orlando in 1992. It was played one more time in 1993 and discontinued. The 1988 game in Chicago was the only went that went into overtime, calling for many more post games massages and anti-inflammatories after Doug Collins made a three to send the game into overtime.

"It was the only three-point shot I ever hit in my career. I came down late and pulled up and hit a three. Sent the game into sudden death overtime and Dave Cowens scored to beat us in overtime. I played a few more and then played one game when George Gervin stepped on my foot and I fell on my wrist and I said that's it for me. Those games were wild. Rick Barry would make them crazy and then Bobby Jones would go after him on defense and try to lock him down. He'd get so mad Bobby wouldn't let him score. It was hilarious."

"Bobby Jones would be playing the type of tough defense he plays and I was saying, ‘Bobby, what the heck are you doing?' Everybody would get mad at me because like when I played pickleball, they'd say it's social. Social my butt. I'm playing to win. I can join a social club if I want to be social. They'd always get mad at me being Rick Barry. Yeah, that's who I am. I'm in that game and I never went to the free throw line. What am I known for no one else is? The underhand free throw. It would have been cool, a chance to go to the line and it's an exhibition and you're supposed to show people what you can do. I was getting fouled, but no calls. If I go out to do anything, I'm going out to play the best I can and try to win. Why would I go out there and make a mockery of the game? Like they do now. Fans were coming to see a game, so I was going to compete. I could still get up and down the court then. It's about having pride. No matter what you do in life, have pride in what you are doing and always give your best effort."

"You know Rick would get his shots (Collins and Barry led in scoring with 12 points each). Once you quit playing, training, you lose that edge of being in shape, so it gets really easy to pull something. All I remember was afterwards I had to go back to the hotel and I had to sit in the bathtub for a long time because my legs were so sore."

Until 1982, individual teams organized and managed the All-Star game, another of the many innovations under the leadership of David Stern when the NBA took complete control and built the weekend to the international event, trade show and basically a world's fair of sports. Planning for the game now takes more than a year after the league moved in that first time in 1982. The game mostly had been in western cities the few years before Chicago, like Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle and Dallas, where the weather was mild. Plus the arenas were relatively modern compared to the West Madison Street Chicago Stadium, opened in 1929. Its Madhouse on Madison sobriquet originally came from the enthusiasm for hockey. It was the premier exhibition hall in the Midwest which also hosted multiple national political conventions. It was known for the deafening noise given the compact structure, and thus there were issues for accommodating the growing international media interest. As a result, the NBA had to erect an outdoor tent outside the Game 3 1/2 media/player entrance for media. At the time, NBA executive Brian McIntyre said, 'The guy promised me he could keep it heated to around 70 degrees. Just my luck, it`ll be 20 below next weekend.'' It was. Temperatures were unusually low for Chicago that weekend, around zero with wind chill temperatures 20 to 25 below. Plus, the NBA had some unique-to-Chicago issues elsewhere that also made the weekend a challenge, though which also cemented the NBA's reputation for being able to put on a big show better than anyone.

Brian McIntyre, NBA communications director:

"That was the only time I've ever seen reporters writing with gloves and stocking caps. We didn't have much staff then, so some people were cutting out paper stars and decorations to put on drapes of the ballroom for the dinner. I knew the Stadium as well as my house (as a Chicago native and former Bulls media director) and went to the site to try to carve out space for a media interview room. There wasn't room. We had to go outside. David said you can't have a tent outside in Chicago in February. I said we'll get heaters. We didn't have much choice. We had that tent and had propane. Then that Friday the fire marshall comes and says we have to change to kerosene because the propane tanks could blow up half the area. It was so icy in the parking lot tent if a delivery truck skidded it would be a major catastrophe. Typing with gloves on. Not our best. The Hyatt is our headquarters and that was the last year everyone, players, media, sponsors, owners all stayed in the same hotel. The game got so big after that. It was great that way. We'd have a big party Friday night and even the players showed up. So some aide to an alderman calls someone asking for tickets and we turn him down. Happened to call someone who didn't know Chicago. So the alderman makes us tear down the facade as a fire hazard in the hotel (McIntyre had told media before the game "When you walk in you'll feel like you're stepping into Grant Park.") because he didn't get the tickets. Just asked the wrong person. But it was a great weekend. Jay Leno was so magnificent we invited him back the next year. We had all those player labor meetings, but there was no disruption. People still talk about that Saturday. It was outstanding. And those players probably don't get enough credit for making the All-Star weekend what it is the way they competed that weekend. It just went on to become such a big event from a mom and pop beginning."

"We all stayed at the Hyatt (Regency on Wacker) and nobody could get down the elevators before the game with everybody trying to leave the same time. We had the whole hotel. We actually were worried about missing the game. I remember when we first started to scout Chicago for the game, it turned out to be the game Michael was coming back from his broken foot with all the time restrictions. Rick Welts and I came out and it was the weirdest thing. That was such a loud arena and it was like everyone was holding their breath for two and a half hours. I'm not sure if that also was the year with the union."

Alex English, West All-Star and union executive:

"It was one of those games that moved the NBA along to the status it is now, when Saturday really was all stars Saturday. The game was fun, competitive, still for East-West bragging rights, which meant something. It also was an opportunity for the small market players to get a chance to be seen internationally. That's how we probably got fans in that period when the NBA wasn't marketed as much as it was. It also seemed like the advent of the great marketing plan David Stern was responsible for. I still have the picture from the Chicago Theatre, the All-Stars introduced at that event. I have a picture with Magic and Isiah and talking to Michael, all standing there together waiting to be introduced. I was a (union) officer with Junior Bridgman and Bob Lanier. Charlie Grantham (union director), those meetings that weekend with David and Russ. There were some tough negotiations (and threats of perhaps a boycott). But we were able to keep things in place and I feel that's one of the reasons the league is as strong as it is today, what we went through, the players and the league then to get where we are today."

The three-point contest only began two years earlier, but it became an immediate sensation when Bird, the aw shucks showman, famously asked upon arriving who was finishing second for the inaugural shootout in 1986. Though it was the defunct ABA that was the incubator for the current All-Star contests. The ABA debuted the three-point shot that the NBA long resisted until it dominates the game today. The ABA introduced the dunk contest, though more significantly celebrated the dunk in an era when it was viewed in the established NBA as something of an insult. The ABA with the likes of Julius Erving, David Thompson and Darnell Hillman made the dunk an art form and invited the trash talking that continues as NBA long form discussion these days. The NBA long demeaned the ABA's red-white-and-blue basketball, which became the so called "money ball" in the three-point shootout. The NBA was reluctant for a long time until it was obvious the events were the people's choices.

"I was in that first one (runner-up). I was with Milwaukee then. Larry walks into locker room while we're waiting to take photos and looks around and starts pointing people out, ‘Leon Wood, nah you might shoot yourself out in warmups.' ‘Who coming in second.' It was over at that point (even though Hodges had the best overall one round earlier in the competition). Being in it in Chicago was cool, a chance to be with family and friends. I was still with the Bucks (traded the next month to the Suns and then later in 1988 to the Bulls). Growing up in Chicago the Bulls meant so much to you. In Milwaukee, Nellie was a promoter of the point forward, so I'd stretch the defense at guard. Nellie was the first to be big into the three-point shot. So he promoted me going into the competition. It was big for me because it solidified myself as one of the top shooters in the league finishing second to Bird that first year. The one in Chicago I felt like I had a good chance to win and I think I got too excited about being in Chicago and it did me in. I was terrible (finishing last). It was a learning experience, but it was such a big basketball weekend in Chicago. I probably should have treated it like I did all the others (winning three straight), like a road trip, stay in a hotel. The funny part was a few years later (1990) when Michael got in I'm thinking, ‘I'm not letting that brother outshoot me.' We used to shoot two people on the court at the same time, so I'm shooting with Michael. The first round they put me and Michael against one another. I'm on one end and I'm hearing the crowd going crazy. I'm shooting the ball well, but I'm wondering if they are cheering for him. What's he doing? I shot my last ball and looked up and it wasn't close (20-5 for Hodges). I'm not going down to him shooting."

Danny Ainge, East All-Star and Three-point contestant:

"It was my first All-Star game, so that was special. I was saying that playing with Michael it could be the highest scoring guard combo in All-Star history. What'd Michael get, 40? The shooting contest was such a new thing for us with the racks. The best shooters are specialists, but it tells you what a great shooter Larry was because he took such a variety of shots and kept winning. I wasn't in the '86 one, but Larry was extremely confident and such a great shooter it wouldn't surprise me that (he'd trash talk about who's second). Didn't even take his warmups off (in 1988) and walks off with his finger raised to beat Dale Ellis."

"That was my first time of the four times I did it. The biggest thing I remember we all were sitting in a room getting ready for the call to come out there. So everyone is in there but Larry, who was (defending champion). The door opens and he sticks his head in and says, ‘Excuse me fellas, this must be the room for second place' and closes the door. And, of course, he won. It didn't go that well for me. I really didn't practice for it and I found out after doing it that it helps because it's a different kind of shooting off the racks. Brad (Daugherty) was on the East team, so we were hanging out enjoying the city. It was a good time for us, too, because we'd just been in the playoffs for the first time and making that move to be a contender in the East."

"One guy played for me and was my franchise and was carrying me every night and the other guy is the guy we are trying to beat and is beating every team to death. Who do I think won the dunk contest? I remember preparing an envelope for each of the guys when they checked in with one page of the offense we would run. I'm sure they were saying this guy is nuts. But I remember we had a practice on Saturday, just shooting around, four groups on both ends. So that night Bird wins the three-point competition and as he's walking off the floor he turns to me and says, ‘Must have been the shooting drills this morning.'"

Michael Jordan defeated Dominique Wilkins in one of the greatest NBA slam-dunk competitions of all time.

The slam dunk contest was being anticipated perhaps even more than the All-Star game, which in the 1980s reached its zenith with an alluring combination of artistry and competition. The expectations about the dunk contest were elevating for months with the face-off between the two premier dunkers and athletes of the era in Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins. Jordan was the one legged creative and imaginative dunker and Wilkins was the two-legged fierce power dunker. They were the games best athletes with Julius Erving in retirement the previous season. Wilkins' Atlanta Hawks and Jordan's Bulls both would win 50 games that season and were battling to be the next team to break through and take a run at Boston and Detroit. Wilkins had won the 1985 contest with Jordan second. Jordan was injured for 1986, and Jordan won in 1987 with Wilkins second. Now it was the rubber match, the face off for the crown, the two greatest athletes of the era taking flight in Chicago for the ultimate dunk off. Terrific athletes like Otis Smith, Jerome Kersey, Clyde Drexler and 1986 champion Spud Webb were in the contest, but hardly anyone noticed. Wilkins won the first round over Jordan with a tomahawk 360 as Jordan featured an over the shoulder reverse. Jordan won the semifinals over Wilkins with a Dr. J.-inspired free throw line jump over Wilkins' angry windmill. Then the finals and three dunks. Wilkins went first off the backboard to himself. Jordan got a 47 that rained boos on his second for a rocker step driving dunk while Wilkins got a 50 again for a baseline windmill slam. These, by the way, were without props and resembled the dunks done in games. Wilkins needed 48 to win. Wilkins went for the kill shot with a baseline two-hand windmill that drew…just a 45. Even Jordan later said that had to be a 49 or 50. Jordan went back to the fullcourt runway free throw line dunk for 50 and the winner and…the controversy. It would be Jordan's last dunk contest. Wilkins sat out a year and won in 1990 for his final one. It still was the gestation time for the contest and perhaps it never reaches the heights it did without Jordan and Wilkins.

"That's the best dunk contest there ever was. It changed the landscape because you had two of the best dunkers of all time, Michael Jordan and Dominique. The league was just trying to turn the corner with Magic, Bird, Michael and that game is in Chicago. There was no way anyone else was going to finish first; the rest of us were competing for second. I say it was the best ever because they (eventually) got into the props and trying to do different things. And those guys just dunked. They didn't play to the crowd as much as they are doing now. It was one of the high points of the weekend. Our guys at that time understood where the league was at and where it was trying to go, to the Olympics, the Dream Team and when the league asked, everyone said no problem. Back in those days, some of the best dunk contests were in warmups. You'd see Dominique on one end and Micheal on the other with their teams and they'd be watching one another and then dunking in the layup line. You tried a little bit of everything. I remember I left my jersey in the hotel room, so I had to do the contest in my shooting shirt. What more could you ask. The two best dunkers of the time in the finals and you could score at home. But no way Michael was losing."

Dominique Wilkins, East All-Star and Dunk contest:

"It was a highly electric atmosphere that set the stage for both of us and the All-Star game itself was outstanding. It was a great weekend. The level of competition, the guys were legendary players who became Hall of Famers. Chicago had a great team at the time. It was a perfect stage. It was Kareem's last All-Star game, Bird and everyone else for second. The best players competed throughout; that's what made it so special. OK, find out who the best is. It wasn't a time for taking off. You looked forward to competing against your rival. I didn't realize until later we, me and Michael, each averaged over 30 a game against each other. I thought I won (the dunk contest). Actually, I saved my best dunk for last. But no matter thinking back. The fans got their money's worth. That was the main thing. The dunks we did were not only spontaneous, but it was stuff we were doing in games. That was the purity of the contests then we loved. One of my favorites was when I went off the glass and went high and caught it in the second round. I'd never even tried that one before. I just decided as the contest went on. How you measure greatness is when you compete against the greatest. That was a big part of what those dunk contests were about."

"It was close, very close. I thought Michael was just a little better and I voted for Michael. Dominique was great, too. As we all know, everyone has an opinion and you can't please everyone. That last dunk by Michael I thought was incredible. It was a spectacular tribute to Dr. J."

"I remember Nique got screwed. For Nique to get a 45 on that last dunk he did was an injustice. Watch that dunk. No way it's a 45. Michael missed the first one and then does the next. If Nique gets a 48 the contest is over. They give him 45. I said before Nique was going they were in Chicago and that Michael was going to get a super high score. I'd like to see what Gale Sayers gave Dominique. I guarantee Sayers gave Dominique a low score. I was shocked about 45. That was embarrassing. The quality of the dunks was absolutely outstanding. All those dunks were 50s, 49s. Nique dunked with that power and ferocity in regular games. Michael did his fancy kind of cool stuff. They were two of the most superior dunkers in the history of the game and it was a great, great show. But if it were not in Chicago, there was no way Nique wouldn't have won."

The game, Feb. 7, 1988, was the culmination of the weekend many say gave the NBA its momentum to grow the All-Star events into one of the principal dates on the sports calendar. It would be a coronation for Jordan, but also a warning of sorts to the rest of basketball that he was coming, and he was coming fast and perhaps rising above everything. Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson, old friends from prep days and charismatic with the ball, knew how to direct a game with both style and substance. Thomas had 15 assists mostly to Jordan and Johnson had 19 assists. Jordan nearly reached Wilt Chamberlain's record scoring game with Wilkins just behind him with 29 points. Points didn't come easy. Defense was not optional, but stopping that kind of offensive talent wasn't possible. The East prevailed 138-133 in perhaps the greatest show in All-Star game history given the individual performances and unwillingness to surrender to pantomime.

Chicago native and Detroit Pistons star Isiah Thomas dished out 15 assists in the '88 All-Star game.

"For me it was a chance to come back and live out your childhood dream in terms of family, friends, high school. The Stadium for us growing up was magical. It was something as a kid you never thought would happen. Coming back home to be a part of that was beyond anything you could have dreamed of. I'm not sure people to this day understand the significance of the Stadium to us, Chicago east side kids. That was our beacon of light. That was all that was there. Remember after the (1968) riots everything burned down; there was nothing there. It was just starting again. On one side of the Stadium you had skid row. Then boarded up on the north. South the projects and east where we were. There was nothing there, but Reinsdorf and those guys never left while everyone's moving to the suburbs. The only thing we had we could go to and point to was the Chicago Bulls and the Stadium. Standing outside waiting for them to throw the popcorn away, picking it out of the trash can. When teams came to play games you had a chance to see people of relevance. The Black Panther headquarters where we got free breakfast was at Madison and Western. So going back that weekend for my mom, my brothers, nieces and nephews, friends, it was like, ‘Do you believe this?' Mark Aguirre got married that weekend on Saturday. He had planned it for that weekend for us to be there. I feel like that was one of the best shows ever for an All-Star game. Being back in Chicago we wanted to make it one. The defensive resistance actually made you take your skill to a higher level. Like jazz with everyone coming to the same tune and beat. ‘OK, you got this, OK I got that.' You were putting the 24 best players on the floor. You didn't have an opportunity any other time in the regular season to compete like that. There was a feeling of great pride for the conference. You came into that game saying, 'OK, Let me see your stuff. Let me see how good you are.' With Magic and I being around the Jacksons, the great entertainers they were making it their responsibility to not only perform but engage the audience, Magic and I always tried to bring that to the game. From being around Michael Jackson I took his thing about, ‘Can you make the person in the 20th row feel that emotion and excitement and my joy.' So we always tried to give you five minutes doing something you might not have seen before in a game. Like the backboard passes I had to Jordan. He and I connected on some full court passes. Magic was making his with Worthy, Drexler. It was a great weekend for all the Chicago guys, myself, Mark, Doc Rivers, Mo Cheeks. Every year wherever you'd go to play back then you wanted to be competitive but also feature the home guy. Seattle the year before we did with Tom Chambers. In Chicago, you wanted Jordan to be great and also have a great game. But no one was letting him score. That's not the way the game was."

"Michael had 40 points and he kept asking me as he went down the court, ‘How many more do I need to tie Chamberlain?' I kept telling him two, but he never got the 42."

"I didn't play a lot, maybe three or four minutes. I told Mike Fratello there were a lot better players than I was and he should play them. Probably the biggest thing for me after having grown up in the Robert Taylor Homes was being introduced in the Chicago Theatre as an All-Star. I'd never even been in the Chicago Theatre let alone the Chicago Stadium. I remember telling Mike to just put me in for a few minutes and let people see me get on the court. Just the fact of being a Chicagoan and growing up where I did and watching Sloan and Boerwinkle and Bob Love and Chet Walker play and to have the opportunity to play in Chicago in an All-Star game on the same floor was special. It's something I never even dreamed."

Alex English (#2) and Fat Lever (#12) represented the Denver Nuggets in the '88 All-Star game.

"The game had so many different meanings for me, my first All-Star game; my teammate Alex English with me made it easier. It meant everything to get selected. I thought maybe I should have made one game before and didn't. I was always somewhat overlooked, odd man out. Denver also not being a high profile team like New York or LA or Chicago. So to be able to play in Chicago probably was more more important than playing in a game in Salt Lake City because Chicago was the town and everybody talked basketball in that town. I'm not a big city guy, but being in that atmosphere in an All-Star game kind of put me on the map. Chicago knows how to throw a party and the All-Star game is a big party for the NBA. And the way the Chicago Bulls were then playing and their star player and the stars were coming out. I think from that point on the momentum carried for the NBA to this day. Before the game we're in the locker room and (coach) Pat Riley says, ‘OK Fat, you held Michael to 13 points in Denver. You can guard him tonight.' I said, ‘Ahhh, I don't usually.' It was Chicago and you knew Michael was going to put on a show. Then we come in at halftime (trailing 60-54) and Pat asks who wants to guard Michael. No one put up their hand. So Magic comes up with a great idea. He says whoever is close to him when the ball comes in is guarding him. No one wanted to get too close to Michael."

"It was my home town. My whole family was there and my brothers still are arguing about Wilkins and the dunk contest. I remember the Hyatt was wild. They gave me the room of one of the owners by mistake and I had a heck of a suite for that weekend. Jay Leno was great. My first year in Dallas they have Willie Nelson for the entertainment and I think half the players walked out halfway through. Pat was always complaining he had too many forwards on the West team. I remember Alex English was mad one year because Pat hardly played him. We didn't have the guards like the East. They had all that quickness. Pat wasn't really comfortable if he didn't have Magic and James and Kareem on the floor. He'd cut down the minutes for a lot of the other guys. I went to five straight All-Star games as an assistant until I took over (the Lakers) as coach. Then there weren't any. That was Kareem's last game and Pat had to get him back in to set the scoring record. Bill Bertka is saying on the bench, ‘Pat you have to get him back in.' But he's trying to win the game and now there was no margin for error. Pat put him back in and he pretty much had to make the shot and get the record or miss it and the game's going to be over. Typical Kareem style he goes to the block, turns baseline so they couldn't block it and nailed it. I don't ever remember Pat talking about that stuff. Berka was a good right hand man for that. He'd whisper in his ear if there was something going on. It was so amazing going to those games. I didn't know we also got a check. I remember the first year we were All-Star coaches and Bertka was cussing on the bench. Magic missed a couple of jumpers in the Dallas game and he says, ‘Those are your dollars he's cranking off the rim. The winner's check is bigger than the loser's.' I said, ‘All this and I get a check, too?'"

"About the slam dunk I always tell my dear friend Michael, ‘You were fabulous but Dominique was better.' He always says screw you. The two of them were so spectacular in that game. People don't realize how good Dominique was and how great the matches between them were and then playing together; they were the two most exciting players in the league. They understood they were going to put on a show you were not going to see. That's why I laugh at that load management. Try telling those guys. That East team was a better team than the Dream Team. Michael had strep throat the day of the game. He comes to us before the game and (Bulls trainer) Mark Pfeil says he's really sick. We put in some plays, but I don't think they ran them once. Mike (Fratello), I love him and we're trying to win the game. So Barkley ends up with 15 minutes and four shots. Mike didn't mean it. One of my jobs for All-Star as top assistant is, ‘Mike, here's how we're dividing the minutes.' Mo Cheeks comes to us and says we don't have to put him in, but you have Michael and Dominique, Bird, Isiah, Moses, McHale, guys from championship teams. I'm saying Barkley needs to go in. He doesn't get in. So that Tuesday after All-Star our first game is Philadelphia. Barkley goes for 47, 15 rebounds, 26 free throws. On the bench, Mike is asking what we should do. I said we should have played him Sunday. Jordan was really sick. Had like 104 temperature. He couldn't talk before the game. So of course he goes off for 40 points."

"Jordan was ticked off at halftime (six-point East lead). He didn't want to lose in his own building. He went off because he felt some guys were goofing around. He looked at Mike (Fratello) and said. 'Put somebody else in because I'm not losing in this building (Jordan had 16 points in the last 5:30).'"

remembering-one-of-the-greatest-all-star-weekends-in-nba-history-1988-in-chicago

Remembering one of the greatest All-Star weekends in NBA history: 1988 in Chicago

A weekend that featured a low-budget player's luncheon, a one-on-one contest, and a presidential halftime address, Sam Smith paints a picture of the 1973 NBA All-Star game in Chicago Stadium with help from the people who were there.

On January, 23, 1973, a mild mid-30s winter Tuesday night in Chicago, the NBA offered a gift to Chicago basketball fans, the 23rd NBA All-Star game. There was a good crowd of 17,527. It wasn't a classic in a 104-84 Eastern Conference victory. Which worried Chicago because even as the Bulls were becoming an elite contender averaging more than 50 wins per season from 1971 through 1975, basketball hadn't yet built a firm foundation in Chicago. The Bulls were playing some games in Kansas City because one of the investors, Lamar Hunt, lived there. There were talks in 1972 about the team being sold to a San Diego group and relocated there.

Chicago professional basketball had been regarded as something of a basketball graveyard. The Chicago American Gears (1944-48), Chicago Stags (1946-50) and Chicago Packers/Zephrys (1961-63) either disbanded or moved, and the Bulls weren't doing much better after a promising start in 1966. The NBA and Bulls owners thought an All-Star game might help, though it wasn't easy because the home team was responsible for the game and not the NBA. All-Stars were pretty much on their own, flying in on Monday after their Sunday games and out again Wednesday for their Thursday games. The appeal had been that extra few thousand dollars for the winners at a time most players were earning less than $50,000 annually. With the player raids from the American Basketball Association, salaries were increasing. But enthusiasm for the All-Star game was draining some given the hardship of leaving your team to travel back and forth in the midst fo a heavy schedule with little time off. With 17 teams in the league, every team was required to have at least one All-Star. So John Block of the 9-73 Philadelphia 76ers was an All-Star. Sports writers and broadcasters selected the starters and took three reserves and then the coaches added the rest of the reserves. There were 14 All-Stars per team. Fans began voting in 1975.

ABC-TV televised the game with Chris Schenkel and Bill Russell the broadcasters. Schenkel was one of the premier broadcasters of the era, though known more for television bowling. Mutton chops sideburns were a common look. Gale Sayers were the celebrity in the audience mentioned on the TV broadcast. There were no All-Star contests, but there was a season long one-on-one tournament for a $15,000 prize. Players competed to win their team tournament and then throughout the season against players from other teams with a premier game to be shown at halftime of the All-Star game. Geoff Petrie eventually beat Jim Clemens for the title. In 1973, the one-one-one feature was shown after the All-Star game because President Richard Nixon requested airtime at halftime of the game. He announced the end of the Vietnam War.

There was no pregame show as ABC showed Marcus Welby MD until game time. The game competed with Maude and Hawaii 5-0 on CBS and on NBC with the Incredible Flight of the Snow Geese special. In New York City, the independent TV station showed the Nets/Pacers ABA game at the same time with Julius Erving against George McGinnis drawing rival ratings.

The principal entertainment for All-Star weekend was a pregame luncheon for all the players Tuesday. Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley presided at the $25 per plate affair with Chicago Sun-Times gossip columnist Irv Kupcinet, a onetime football player and local TV celebrity, as host. Kupcinet insisted on calling Wilt Chamberlain "Wilt the Stilt," a nickname Chamberlain detested and perhaps contributed to his apathetic performance in his final All-Star game, two shots and two points. Chamberlain long held the All-Star record of 42 points until recent years when players in All-Star games didn't try to keep others from scoring.

Bob Love of the Chicago Bulls finished the All-Star game with six points and three rebounds off the bench for the West.

The Bulls were in the Western Conference then (they moved to the Eastern Conference in 1980). Chet Walker and Bob Love represented the Bulls in the 1973 game, both reserves. It also was the game when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was excused because of a shooting and seven murders at a property he owned and had donated to a Muslim group in Washington, D.C. There were security concerns regarding Abdul-Jabbar's attendance because it was believed the attack was by a Chicago Muslim group then known as the Black Muslims for the Chicago-based Nation of Islam. They denied responsibility. Organizers feared an attack on players during the game. Abdul-Jabbar, then with the Milwaukee Bucks, would have heavy security surrounding the arena for the rest of his games that season, especially in Chicago.

The NBA then scheduled All-Star games for Tuesday because teams made their most money for Friday and weekend game attendance and didn't want to give up those dates. There was little TV revenue for basketball in that era. No games were scheduled on Mondays and few on Tuesday. When David Stern became commissioner, the emphasis became a weekend All-Star game and seven days of NBA games. The NBA in the 1980s took control of the All-Star game and mostly eliminated home team involvement.

"We were responsible for it. I remember we put together a luncheon for all the players before the game on Tuesday. Always on a Tuesday because you didn't want to mess up a weekend of home dates. I'll never forget when David Stern came along and suddenly said it's going to be a weekend and you're going to lose a Friday, Saturday and Sunday home games. Teams were distraught. We had the luncheon (Regency Hyatt House) and afterward the late Bob Logan (Chicago Tribune Bulls writer) was upset. He was always upset about something. He comes up to me and says, ‘What a cheap luncheon. There's no wine at the table." I said it was a low budget league. We had to pay for everything. I left after that season (losing a power struggle with coach Dick Motta) and then went back to Philadelphia and what's sitting there is another All-Star game, for the bicentennial in 1976. Another luncheon and we thought the perfect guy was Bill Cosby. He was just getting big, Temple guy, loved basketball. The Temple p.r. guy got him. He said he'll come but we have to put $1,000 in paper money in a bag and hand it to him. I remember slipping it to him and he did 45 minutes and had that place in a frenzy. Someone said we had Buddy Hackett at that luncheon in ‘73, but I don't recall that. I may have been out looking for wine for Logan."

Professional basketball finally was expanding out of the East Coast like baseball had almost 20 years before. The Bulls were the 10th team in 1966 with Los Angeles still looking for those lakes after arriving from Minnesota in 1960. St. Louis has been the NBA's western outpost, though they would move East to Atlanta in 1968. The NBA expanded to San Diego and Seattle the year after the Bulls started and then to Phoenix in an expansion race triggered by the American Basketball Association going into the small and midsize markets. National media began to discover the NBA, which had been obscured by baseball, football and hockey; often also boxing and track. Sportswriters for the first time outside the East Coast began to be assigned to the NBA. At the Chicago All-Star game, the writers organized to form the Professional Basketball Writers Association of America, the America later dropped when the NBA expanded to Canada. Joe Gilmartin of Phoenix was the first president and Logan from the Chicago Tribune vice president. They were selected as compromise choices when the media from New York, Boston and Philadelphia would support only their candidates.

"I don't recall us (sportswriters) having extreme issues. Leonard Koppett wrote our constitution. He was our Thomas Jefferson. But it was a boring, terrible game. Dave Cowens was the MVP after he should have been the year before in Los Angeles, but West made a shot to win. The games had been good but were reaching a crisis point because guys didn't seem to care enough anymore. It hadn't been like that."

"You really wanted to win it back then when we started. It wasn't about, ‘I'll get layups.' Play defense. Everyone got a chance to play, but when it came to the fourth quarter it was deadly serious. I remember a game with Pettit, Baylor and Wilt on one team, Twyman, me, Cousy, Russell and they were saying both would score 200 points. We beat their butts (115-108). It was about the prestige."

"That extra money from the All-Star did come in handy. It was tough even though salaries were starting to go up. I was there in '64 when we were going to boycott the All-Star game because of the pension. That was the start of eventually the free agency we fought for and now everyone is making $100 million a year. Or is it more?"

Chet Walker of the Chicago Bulls finished the All-Star game with four points off the bench.

Wilt had begun to tire of the game, 1973 in Chicago his fifth straight All-Star game scoring in single digits after setting the all-time All-Star scoring record that Michael Jordan shot for and fell a basket short of in 1988. It was a new era for the NBA with the ABA draining off so much of the top talent and the era changing with Wilt, West, Oscar and Baylor toward the end and a new group coming with the likes of Sidney Wicks, Charlie Scott, Nate Archibald, Dave Cowens and Pete Maravich.

"I remember a lot of guys went to get tailor made suits. There was a king size big and tall out of Boston. Everyone has these cool suits, wide lapels, platform shoes. I remember the one-on-one contest. I think I lost to Barry Clemens of all guys. He could shoot. I remembered I did outbound Wilt (10-7) in the Chicago game."

"There wasn't a whole lot of hugging and kissing in the games like there is today. You pretty much just came in for the game and went back to your team."

"It wasn't like 1988. It seemed like just another game. The players showed up and played. I remember Archibald was upset. His (West) team didn't play that great and he was mad. He thought the players weren't putting out. He was right."

Archibald starting for a West team that included Chamberlain and Jerry West led the West team with 17 points and five assists and attempted a team most 12 shots. He was a wizard with the ball before a serious knee injury, the only NBA player ever to lead the league in scoring and assists the same season. Jerry West had said about Archibald before the game, "He looks like a high school kid and plays like a superstar. One step and he's at full speed and gone."

 "It wasn't a memorable game, but I would say the best was the era, playing with some of the top players who ever played in the NBA, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West. They go down as the greatest to ever play and that includes since then. It's an honor to be in that game (more than 20 Hall of Famers in the 1973 game). I remember a few years later the game in Philly (1976) I won the MVP. I had just been traded to Washington. I was voted a starter but I should not have been. I remember calling Calvin Murphy and telling him he should have been the starter and not me. But I wanted to prove I still could play and the All-Star game did mean something."

"I remember feeling validated with the Chicago game. That was my second All-Star game and so to be picked for two didn't mean you were a fluke. I didn't play as much as I did in L.A the year before. I thought that year I had a run at MVP, but didn't get to play the fourth quarter because I was a bench player. That was when I was with Baltimore. In '73 I was with Houston, which then got put in the Eastern Conference. I didn't play much, so the East won. There's your story."

As the game progressed to a desultory 50-47 East halftime lead, Schenkel announced the White House had asked for time for a message to be presented at halftime and that the one-on-one final would be delayed until after the game.

There were three primary network TV stations then and, at least in the larger cities, two or three so called independent stations. Each network had a primary anchor for its news, which was the premier non entertainment programming. Howard K. Smith was for ABC. He introduced President Richard Nixon for the TV audience.

Nixon appeared in filling up the tiny screen and read: "Today we conclude the agreement to end the war and bring peace with honor." Nixon announced a January 27 cease fire and mentioned "peace with honor" numerous times. He claimed all the conditions "I laid down were met." All prisoners of war would be released and South Vietnam would be an independent nation to "determine its own future as the Republic of Vietnam…without outside interference." Nixon said he was proud of a peace that didn't abandon its allies and that lives were lost so the people of South Vietnam could live in freedom and peace. Of course, it didn't work out exactly that way.

In addition to Abdul-Jabbar, Rick Barry sat out with injury and was replaced by Connie Hawkins.

"I hurt my ankle Sunday in Milwaukee. We'd just won in Chicago the game before that. So I couldn't play in Chicago, but I remember a lot of the All-Star games and they were fierce. My first time I played Cincinnati, I think I fouled out. Which means obviously I was trying to play defense. Obviously, I didn't play it very well because I fouled out. But one of the fouls I got called for they said you were warding off Chamberlain on a drive to the basket for an offensive foul. I said, ‘You're joking. I can put two hands on Wilt and I couldn't move him out of the way.' It was a bad call (Rick remembers all the bad calls)."

Abdul-Jabbar skipped the All-Star game to prepare for he funeral of the people murdered in the attack on the building he owned in Washington, D.C. Four children were drowned in the attack, one of the most heinous crimes of the era and the largest mass killing in Washington, D.C. Back then newspapers spelled the faith "Moslem." Abdul-Jabbar had purchased a large stone house in an upscale Washington D.C. neighborhood for a Muslim sunni group known as Hanafi Muslims. Its leader was in a dispute with a group then known as Black Muslims that was the Chicago-based Nation of Islam. They denied any connection with the slaughter. The Nation of Islam was advocating a white extermination in the U.S. that Abdul-Jabbar decried. Abdul-Jabbar was among several top collegiate players who had declined to play for the U.S. basketball team in the 1968 Olympics with comments that are similar to that of former NFL player Colin Kaepernick about white privilege, racism and violence against blacks. There was a famous Today Show interview with then host Joe Garagiola in which Abdul-Jabbar was given the typical for the era "America love it or leave it" suggestion for critics. The Olympic movement then still had strong Nazi sympathizers in president Avery Brundage. Tommie Smith and John Carlos had the famous power fist salute in that 1968 Olympics in the gold medal ceremony. Spencer Haywood, who was an All-Star in 1973, got his break replacing Abdul-Jabbar on that Olympic team. Abdul-Jabbar later became a teacher for Haywood in his Muslim studies. When Abdul-Jabbar played in Chicago that season, police were stationed at both ends of the corridor of his floor in the team hotel. Multiple police cars escorted the team to and from Chicago Stadium. Security guards lined the court.

Wayne Embry, Milwaukee Bucks general manager:

"It was no joking matter, but nobody wanted to sit next to him on the bench. There were constant threats. It was a rough time, extra security around the court wherever we played. It was pretty tense."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Milwaukee Bucks was excused from the game to prepare for he funeral of the people murdered in the attack on the building he owned in Washington, D.C.

The Bucks still won 60 games and Abdul-Jabbar was second in the league to Archibald in scoring at 30 per game and averaged 16 rebounds. Archibald led in scoring and assists that season. Dave Cowens was MVP for the season and for that All-Star game.

Bobby Dandridge, West All-Stars/Abdul-Jabbar teammate:

"Chicago had a lot of Muslim factions, so when we played in Chicago we always were under heavy security. No one did want to sit near Kareem. The other thing was it really was the first time I remember seeing Chicago Stadium during the day time. Simply because when we went to the arena we rode a bus and were always getting into Chicago Stadium at night. For All-Star, we practiced in the daytime and it was the first time I really got a chance to see the neighborhood the Stadium was located in. From the riots in 1968, nothing was rebuilt. It was still like a war zone, things burned out. Your first All-Star game always is memorable. I was a reserve and a coach's vote, which meant you had to play well. Back then most of the coaches had basketball experience as former players, like our coach, Larry Costello. My first All-Star game was one of the goals I had set for myself. I remember the one-on-one contest. Bob Lanier took me down; kept backing me down. The other thing I recall is going into the locker room and all the big stars were smoking cigarettes. I mean everyone from Wilt Chamberlain to Bob Lanier and that sort of burst my bubble about the All-Stars, the top players in the league. It was the closest you ever got to knowing anything personal about your opponents because during that era guys didn't talk to each other. It was such an atmosphere of competitiveness. You could get fined for talking to a guy on the opposite team during pregame warmups. Your team would fine you. It almost took leaving the league before you developed a friendship with a guy if he was an opponent. I remember driving myself to the game from Milwaukee. Just 81 miles."

The 1970s became a fallow period for the NBA, remembered somewhat inaccurately and unfairly for supposed drug and disruptive issues. Though it was more a reaction to the civil rights issues of the day in a predominantly league of black star players, the Vietnam War and developing economic issues that roiled the country. Plus, the NBA faced its first serious competition from the ABA, which was recruiting some of the top college stars and All-Stars. Court fights were common and Rick Barry even had to sit out a season. ABA players were welcomed by fellow players because NBA salaries tripled as the ABA teams finally gave NBA players bargaining power.

"It was my first All-Star game. I was just coming from the ABA with my first year in the NBA. It was special to me, vindication for Jerry Colangelo to get me and an opportunity to play with people I grew up idolizing, Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain. You can't imagine the feeling of being in the same room with them. Practically everyone in the game ended up in the Hall of Fame. Spencer also was from the ABA and his case was a little different because it was so acrimonious, but the players loved having us there. It meant more money for everyone. I don't think the owners were as happy."

The big prize that season was the one-on-one tournament with one of the playoff rounds to be televised during the Chicago All-Star game. Players competed throughout the season for the $15,000 prize, Bob Lanier winning in 1972 and being handed a bag by Bill Russell with 15,000 $1 bills for the win. Players flew into New York during the season for the matches in generally empty gyms with the finals televised during a Knicks game so there would be a filled stadium.

"It was my first time doing TV, myself and Chick Hearn. I had been doing Knicks radio. We split the games and I did the championship. Geoff Petrie against Barry Clemens for the final. Roone Arledge and Don Ohlmeyer came up with it. We did some voice overs and some we did live. I don't think it was exactly the most exciting basketball. They were hoping for bigger names. Petrie was a tremendous player, but it as a little disappointing. The crowd watched at the Garden, but not with great enthusiasm."

"I think we got $1,000 or $2,000 when we played one another, and we're making about $55,000 or $60,000 then and there was the pride on your team, so they were pretty competitive games. I was a good one-on-one player, but no one knew me. I played Rick Barry for the final spot for our team and there's no way I could beat Rick Barry. He was one of the greatest players ever, probably top 10 all-time. But people didn't like him so he didn't get as much credit. He beats me, but he didn't want to fly all the way to New York to tape the game. So he says, ‘You go, Jim.' They're expecting Rick Barry to play Elvin Hayes. I show up and this guy Chet Forte is taping a few of the games and he keeps denying my turn for my game. Finally Forte tells me it's supposed to be Rick and they're not filming me. I was so pissed and I'll admit on the plane back to San Francisco I was crying because they wouldn't let me do the game. I wasn't the star Rick was. But the players' association stood up for me and I went back. Flew all night for a second time after a game to do it. I'm playing Elvin Hayes and I knew I had a chance. Elvin is not really interested and I have him 10-4 at a break. Kevin Grevey is watching and says to Elvin, ‘This guy is embarrassing you. The game is going to be shown on TV.' So Elvin starts backing me down. He let me have 20 footers all day. It was two points per basket and you have to win by four. It gets to 20-20. The official was Jake O'Donnell and I get called for a push off late and Elvin beats me 26-22. It turned out they liked my game with Elvin and are going to show it at halftime of the All-Star game. I'm at home watching with my wife for my game at halftime and Nixon at all times takes the halftime show to announce the end of the Vietnam War. Nixon! He did it to me again. Then it's all disorganized after the game with Cowens the MVP and Schenkel can't hear, an awkward scene and he says let's go to the Gillette one-on-one game."

Dave Cowens of the Boston Celtics won MVP of the 1973 All-Star game.

The low scoring game was tied at 57 at halftime. The East had a 19-6 run in the third quarter and went on to pull away with a 28-19 fourth quarter. West and Chamberlain nearing the end of their careers combined for just eight points with the hustle of Dave Cowens carrying the East. Cowens had 15 points and 13 rebounds to win the MVP award. His hustle and grit transcending his style and panache defined a pair of Celtics championship teams in that era.

"You just separated from your team and left for the game. Fly in coach, go to a luncheon, get your picture taken, maybe a short practice, play the game and two days later another game. That was the All-Star game. Our games were played more like a regular season game than you see now. The way I always looked at it was I got to be an All-Star because I was playing well, so why not play your best? I think in Chicago they gave me Most Valuable Player because they felt bad they didn't give me it the year before even though we lost. I had like 14, 16 points and 20 rebounds in that LA game and the most rebounds anyone else had was 10. West then came down and made a shot and he got MVP. Those games were good street games. I rebounded; that was my ticket. Chicago was good, too. Lot of missed shots. Better for me."

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