My first All Star memory came back in 1991 when Dee Brown pumped up his classic Reebok Pumps and I still remember watching with a friend with both of our jaws open as nine year olds.
We had never seen anything like it before and a year later is when Magic Johnson came back from his HIV scare to drop 25 points, 9 assists, and 5 rebounds and trounce the Eastern Conference 153-113 in the 1992 All Star Game.
I cried for hours because for some reason I took every game my hero, Michael Jordan (sorry I am from Chicago), played in very seriously. And if he lost, I took it more than serious.
Needless to say, Karl Malone and me were the only ones unhappy with Magic Johnson’s return and I also remember Cedric Ceballos’ blindfold dunk in the ’92 Slam Dunk contest. I also thought that was the coolest thing I had ever seen, or since Dee Brown’s pumps the year before.
He was not matching Dee Brown’s, but he was upstaging it and right then and there I knew I loved the NBA All Star weekend. These highly tuned athletes were always trying to trump one another’s antics and it was great for little kids like me at the time.
After that we started seeing more and more crazy histrionics as each year passed and the NBA also adapted and adjusted.
We saw “Baby Jordan” Harold Miner (one of my favorite college players ever and my friend still has his Heat #32 jersey) be the first dunker ever to go reverse and cock it below his hip. Again, I had never seen that before and that is what makes the NBA’s All Star weekend the best.
Baseball is boring. Who watches hockey? And the NFL does not have an All Star game, do they? I am joking but nobody watches the NFL version and they are years behind the curve.
From the dunk contest, to the three-point contest, to the skills contest, HORSE, and the Rookie/Sophomore game; the NBA is always trying to trump the last season, similar to their dunk contestants.
We saw Isaish Rider go through the legs for the first time ever in ‘93. We saw a white dude, Brent Barry, go from the free throw line and prove white men can’t jump theory wrong.
Kobe Bryant carried on the tradition of highflying superstars (Dr. J, Jordan, Dominique) in ’97 and then Vince Carter happened in 2000. I remember exactly where I was for the reverse windmill 360 that VC threw down and I bet you do too. For some reason it was a defining moment in my life, sad but true.
I remember watching VC finish the dunk and after numerous replays I saw a flash in the middle of his dunk and said, “There! That is the poster that I want!”
I found that poster and still have it up to this day. I told you it was a defining moment in my life.
The NBA All Star weekend is like no other All Star game. The NBA celebrates its stars like no other league and the fans love every moment of it, hence the record-breaking attendance this year in Dallas. Baseball is my first love and always will be but I do not have one single MLB All Star memory, but maybe it is because I am a Cubs fan.
What are some of your favorite NBA All Star moments?
