All-Star Game Kobe’s last, Toronto’s first
Of all the goodies Kobe Bryant collects in his farewell season, one this weekend might be particularly useful.
After all, you need a good winter coat in Canada. Though Bryant probably wouldn’t be too unhappy with another All-Star Game MVP trophy as well.
The final NBA showcase for Bryant and the first to be staged outside the U.S. is in Toronto, the city that staged the first NBA game 70 years ago and is so enthusiastic for basketball now that it could no longer be ignored no matter what the thermometer says.
“I think it’s going to be bonkers,” said Grizzlies guard Vince Carter, the Raptors’ first All-Star in 2001. “I think it’s overdue. It’s a great city. I think they’ll be a great host and I think guys are going to have a lot of fun. It’s going to be cold.” Frigid, actually. A relatively mild winter by Canada’s standards will be nothing but a warm memory this weekend, when Saturday’s forecast is for temperatures near zero degrees and far below it with the wind chill. The players can cover up with parkas designed for them by Canada Goose, maker of cold weather outerwear.
Carter is the Raptors’ career leader with 23.4 points per game and won the slam dunk contest at the 2000 All-Star Game in Oakland, California. He was the leading vote-getter for the 2001 All-Star Game at Washington.
But Carter won’t be in the city he called the NBA’s “best-kept secret,” instead spending his break watching his daughter play in a tennis tournament.
“It’s just bad timing because I know it’s going to be epic and I would love to be there,” he said. “It’s just daddy duties first.”
The NBA long sought warm-weather locations for its winter road trip, and cities that had a good chance for a white Christmas generally had little hope of getting All-Star weekend.
But Toronto, where the Toronto Huskies and New York Knicks played on Nov. 1, 1946, in Maple Leaf Gardens, is so passionate about its Raptors that general manager Masai Ujiri was fined a couple years ago for using an expletive about playoff opponent Brooklyn with Commissioner Adam Silver in attendance. This year, Silver said Toronto is “an ideal host.”
“There is a special energy and excitement around All-Sta r this year, and we’re looking forward to four days of great events that honor our marquee players and legends, celebrate the game, and provide loads of excitement for our fans,” Silver said.
If Bryant heats up, he could add a fifth All-Star Game MVP award to his collection.
The events kick off today (Rising Stars Chal- lenge, 8 p.m., TNT), the slam dunk and 3 -point contests are Saturday and the game is Sunday night (7:20, TBS, TNT).
Bryant is a four-time MVP of the All-Star Game and its career scoring leader, though now just two points ahead of LeBron James.
Does the 18-time AllStar have enough left at 37 for one more vintage performance?
“Knowing Kobe as well as I do, I’m sure if he gets going, and the guys get him going, you know the crowd’s going to want it to happen; certain players are going to want it to happen,” former teammate Shaquille O’Neal said in remarks provided by TNT.
“If he can find his stroke and get it going a little bit, I can guarantee you he’s going to go for the MVP. It’s his last one. Why not go out with a bang?”