All-Star Weekend

by A.C. Green

In 2004, I got to attend the NBA All-Star Week in LA. It was fantastic, one of those events you just don’t think can be beat. Well, it was matched by this year’s game in Phoenix.

I spend a lot of time at my house in Phoenix, and the nice thing about having an event where you live is that you don’t have to ask everyone for directions all the time! Even better though, was the chance to bring five of my nephews to all the festivities: Kevyn, Nick, Austin, Terrence, and Lee. Funny story though – when we first got to Phoenix, the older ones wanted to go out and hit the town to do some dancing. Lee and I didn’t want to be stuck at home, so we attended the opening of Friday the 13^th. Let’s just say someone slept with all the lights on that night…and it wasn’t me.

I work with the NBA, so I also had meetings to attend with some of our sponsors, appearances to make, and I also got to participate in some great activities with NBA Cares. I visited a local elementary school with some great people from Hewitt Packard - they donated computers to the school. It was an honor to be a part of that, watching the kids learn how to use these state of the art computers, doing artwork on them, screens rotating 180 degrees… it was great. I also got to attend an event for Spalding (the official NBA ball) with a friend who works for them, Irisha.

What, you want to know about the game, the dunk contest, the 3-ball contest. Well, I can sum it up in a word: Awesome! My nephews got to meet some of their favorite players, and I got to catch up with some friends. Tell you what, my nephews were so excited that three of them had to go to the bathroom before it started, and I’m not sure that prevented “accidents” from happening during the slam dunk contest! Speaking of which, the dunk contest was crazy! We all know what it’s like watching these amazing athletes on tv, but when you are sitting just steps away…well, it gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “big screen.”