All-Stars Fever

This is my favorite time of the NBA season....All-Stars. I love All-stars weekend because I get to see the stars in action. But my favorite is the Slam Dunk competition. I am always at the end of seat waiting to see what skills will be displayed. In all my years of watching the Slam Dunk I always say that 2000 was my favorite the year Vince Carter won. But last year became my favorite when Dwight Howard break out his superman stunt.....that was incredible. I can't wait to see what he have in store for the year, but I am sure it will be explosive and mind bubbling. I am also a fan of the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge cause I get to see the Rookies and Sophomores strut their stuff without the veterans. Then the big day All-star game.....what can I say who wouldn't want to see the top players in the league on one team. I can't wait plus Nene the Brazilian superstar for the Denver Nuggets will get married on All-star weekend....how cool is that. Chris Webber on NBA TV Fan Night said that it would be great to have him kiss the bride at the Slam Dunk competition while Dwight Howard dunk over them......ummmm.....that's far fetch but think about it.....that will be taking slam dunk to higher heights. Rudy Fernandez join defending champion Dwight Howard, 2006 champion Nate Robinson and Rudy Gay becoming the first international player to compete in the contest. I wonder what they have plan for us this year......will they be able to top last year's performance......we'll have to wait and see.

Here are the 2009 All-stars Game starter and a just a few reasons why they are All-stars. These guys get it done season after seasons. They are also the go to guys on their respected teams and are known as some of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball. Some are coming to the end of their careers while some are just getting started.

Eastern Conference Starters

Detroit Pistons Allen Iverson 13th season in the league with his 10th All-star appearance and 2 times All-star MVP (2001, 2005), 1997 rookie of the year, 4 time scoring champion, led the league in scoring and steal 2 straight season (2000-01, 2001-02) the only player since Micheal Jordan to do so, 2001 League MVP (becoming the lightest and shortest player to win an NBA MVP)


Miami Heat Dwyane Wade 6th season with his 5th All-star appearance, 2008 Olympics gold medalist, 2006 NBA champion, 2006 NBA Finals MVP, 2006 sportsman of the year, NBA All-star Skill Challenge champion (2006, 2007)


Cleveland Cavaliers Lebron James 6th season in his 5th All-star appearance, 2 times All-star MVP (2006, 2008), 2008 Olympics gold medalist, 2003-04 rookie of the year, youngest player in NBA history to reach the 5,000-point plateau, the second player in NBA history (Oscar Robertson the first) to post 4 consecutive season of 27 points, 6 rebound and 6 assist, he is also 1 of 3 players in the last 20 season to lead the league in scoring and average 7 or more assist (Micheal Jordan 1988-89, Allen Iverson 2004-05), 2008 scoring champion


Boston Celtics Kevin Garnett 14th season 12th All-star appearance, 1st All-star starter in Minnesota Timberwolves franchise history, also the Timberwolves all-time leader in points, rebounds, assist, steals and blocks, 2003 All-star MVP, League MVP (2003-04) the second player drafted out of high school since Moses Malone (1979) to win, 2007-08 NBA champion with the Boston Celtics and he also joins Larry Bird as only players in NBA history with six consecutive seasons averaging 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists


Orlando Magic Dwight Howard 5th season 3rd appearance, this year leading vote getter he became the 1st player to crack the 3 million-vote ceiling (passing Yao Ming 2,558,278 in 2005), 2008 Slam dunk champion, 2008 Olympics gold medalist, also 3rd high school senior selected with the first overall pick (Kwame Brown, Lebron James), youngest player in NBA history to reach 4000 rebounds, youngest player in NBA history to average a double-double, youngest player in NBA history to record 20 rebounds in 1 game, youngest player in NBA history to lead the league in rebounding (2007-08), hold the highest percentage in field goal in All-star Game history (.810 - 17 field goals made from 21 attempts)

Western Conference Starters

Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant 13th season 11th All-star appearance, 2008 Olympics gold medalist, 2 times All-star MVP (2002, 2007), 3 times NBA champion, 2007-08 League's MVP, the youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points barrier (12/23/07 vs Knicks), 1 of 3 active players with at least 20,000 points (Shaquille Oneal, Allen Iverson), hold the record for the 2nd highest total points in NBA history (81 points vs Raptors 1/22/06), also the youngest All-star in NBA history to post a team high 18 points and 6 rebounds in 1998 All-stars Game


New Orleans Hornets Chris Paul 4th season 2nd All-star appearance, 2008 Olympics gold medalist, 2007-08 ranked 1st in assist and steals (first player since John Stockton 1991-92 to lead league in those categories), 2005-06 rookie of the year, 1st player in the last 15 seasons to average 20+ points and 10+ assists per game, 4th player in All-star Game history to reach 14+ points and 14+ assists, hold the league's record with 108 consecutive games with a least 1 steal (12/23/08)


San Antonio Spurs Tim Duncan 12th season 11th All-star appearance, 4 times NBA champion, 3 times NBA Finals MVP ( 1999, 2003, 2005) joining Magic Johnson, Micheal Jordan and Shaquille Oneal as the only players to do so, 2 times League's MVP (2002, 2003), 1998 rookie of the year


Phoenix Suns Amare Stoudamire 6th season 3rd All-star appearance, 2003 rookie of the year, 2004 2004 Rookie Challenge MVP, 2007 All-NBA 1st team


Houston Rockets Yao Ming 7th season 6th All-star appearance, the 14th rookie selected to start in the All-star game and the first since Grant Hill (1995), 1st No. 1 pick to come from an international basketball league (2002), currently the tallest player in the NBA at 7 feet 6 inches