One Weekend in Cleveland

The festivities tipped off on Friday, Feb. 18, with the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA) opening the doors to its “Legends Lounge.” Greats from the NBA, WNBA, ABA and the Harlem Globetrotters mixed and mingled, caught up with longlost friends and showed that they can still make those mid-range jumpers with precision on a newly constructed court at The Renaissance Hotel in downtown.

NBA Legends and Hall of Famers Dikembe Mutombo and Dominique Wilkins discussed with pride their latest business ventures into the world of coffee and fine cigars, respectively. Rick Barry then waxed poetic on the finer points of the pick and roll and showed off his underhanded free-throw shooting style, which still crisply swishes through the net as it did when he played. WNBA Legend Chasity Melvin noted that she “still has it” as she dribbled and posed for pictures. Meanwhile, George “The Iceman” Gervin proved that cool never goes out of style. The camaraderie was palpable and set the stage for the rest of the weekend.

Friday night, as the NBA’s Rising Stars game was taking place at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, the coaching stylings of Legends Isiah Thomas and Rick Barry were on full display (Team Barry won 25-20). Legends from all different eras of basketball watched the action on a pair of bigscreen television screens as they ate, drank and danced at the NBRPA’s Tip-Off party at The IVY bar and restaurant. While the weekend centered on celebrating the NBA’s top 75 players, this was also a celebration of all basketball players from every era and walk of life. Legends such as Brad Sellers, Bonnie Dove, Kenny Battle, Harold “Lefty” Williams and Micheal Ray Richardson were omnipresent throughout and shared stories that would be music to any basketball lover’s ears.

Saturday morning saw a tremendous turnout for the Legends Care Drive-Thru Food Distribution following a night of laughs, great stories and good times. The event took place at the CMSD’s East Professional Center, in conjunction with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Greater Cleveland Food Bank and The Sherwin-Williams Company.

Legends braved the freezing temperatures and did what they always do best — dishing assists to the community and providing inspiration and support for participating families. Cleveland Cavaliers greats Austin Carr and Jim Chones lifted boxes filled with shelf-stable food items and lovingly placed them in needy families' trunks and back seats. Bo Kimble, Janice Braxton and Glenn McDonald gladly handed out the donated goods to smiling children and happy mothers, while volunteers from the NBRPA and their partners’ staff worked alongside them.

Sunday evening brought us the 71st annual NBA All-Star Game — and what a game it turned out to be. Modern-day stars LeBron James, Steph Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo displayed their game for Legends seated courtside and across the sold-out arena.

The game — played under the Elam Ending format — was closely contested and saw local Ohio products shine throughout the night. Curry took home the All-Star MVP hardware after dropping an awe-inspiring 50 points and breaking the NBA’s All-Star 3-Point shooting mark with 16 made threes, and James drilled a turnaround jumper to give Team LeBron a 163-160 victory over Team Durant.

While the game would have been the crown jewel on any other night, this day belonged to the players named to the NBA 75 team. At halftime, a once-in-a-lifetime event took place — the 75 greatest players in NBA history were each named one-byone and took a walk to center court.

Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson greeted each other, Dennis Rodman and Shaquille O’Neal took their place on the podium as only they could, and names from earlier eras, such as Elvin Hayes, Bob Petit, Julius Erving and Dave Bing took in the spectacle in admiration of this brotherhood.