Iverson Pleases Auerbach Flashy Guard Wins Rookie Game Mvp, But Many Fans Aren’t Impressed

NBA All-Star weekend

Playing for the great Red Auerbach for a night didn’t change much about Allen Iverson.

He was still blessed with speed and style and showered with criticism, even a few boos. With Auerbach on the bench, Iverson had 19 points and nine assists and was named MVP of the rookie game Saturday as the East beat the West 96-91.

Auerbach, for one, couldn’t figure out what all the fuss is about Iverson.

“The kid is coachable,” said Auerbach, his voice hoarse from a night back on the sideline. “With all of his great talent and flamboyance, he’s coachable. I love him.”

Iverson talked about the night with two Reds on the sideline - Auerbach and Holzman, who coached the West.

“I was playing with a great coach,” Iverson said. “I was telling the coach it was a great experience I’m going to treasure.”

Iverson, though, was booed at the end of the game when he was named MVP.

“That was the first time I ever recall being booed,” Iverson said.

Bryant wins slam dunk contest

Kobe Bryant won the All-Star slam dunk competition.

His winning jam began with a between-the-legs move and ended with a muscle flex in front of the greatest players in basketball history. He received 49 of a possible 50 points from the five-judge panel.

“I didn’t know what to do but flex,” said Bryant, a 6-foot-6 guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. “It was a spur-of-the moment decision.”

Less than 2 hours earlier, Bryant scored 31 points in the rookie all-star game.

Kerr bags 3-point title

Steve Kerr took a relaxed approach and finally - on his fourth try - won the All-Star 3-point shootout, beating defending champion Tim Legler in the finals, 22-18.

Kerr, the Chicago Bulls’ long distance expert and the NBA’s career leader in 3-point percentage entering the season, made 17 of 25 shots in the final round, including all five of his two-point balls.

Legler, of the Washington Bullets, who has missed the entire season with knee and hamstring injuries, hit 15 of 25 shots in the final round.

Ice hot

George “Iceman” Gervin, a member of the NBA’s 50 greatest players club, showed he can still shoot. Gervin won the Legends Shootout, beating three-time defending champion Jo Jo White.

Off the mark

Jim Valente demonstrated a million reasons why the two-handed set shot left the NBA about the same time Oscar Robertson arrived.

Valente, a 49-year-old real-estate developer from Bradenton, Fla., misfired badly from 3-point range and failed to win the $1 million prize. He had been coached for the NBA All-Star weekend event by Robertson, a star in the 1960s and ‘70s.

Jordan hasn’t had his fill of Phil

Michael Jordan revealed that he would retire after the season if the Bulls do not re-sign coach Phil Jackson.

“It means I’d probably retire,” Jordan said. “If they don’t re-sign Phil I could play somewhere else, but I’d make the choice of not playing somewhere else. If Phil’s not back I’m not going anywhere, but I’m not staying.”

Jordan, who like Jackson will also be a free agent this summer, added that he would not follow his coach to another city.

Rodman can wear a dress

The NBA is not out to get Dennis Rodman now that his 11-game suspension has ended.

At least that’s what Commissioner David Stern insisted in his annual All-Star weekend news conference.

“I’m not going to punish him for what he does off the court. I’ll let the media crucify him for wearing a gown or a skirt on the Today Show,” Stern said.

“This is still America, and my jurisdiction extends only to the basketball court. Dennis understands it completely, and I don’t want to turn a disciplinary issue into a witch hunt.”

In their annual pre-All-Star Game news conference, Stern and Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik also said they’d like to broaden the league’s drug policy, improve the league’s scoring dropoff and invite more players to try out for the next Dream Team. Also, he said the league would not stand in the way of the Kings leaving Sacramento.

Kemp denies heavy drinking

Seattle SuperSonic Shawn Kemp denied a report he consumed nine to 10 drinks with three friends at a restaurant the night before his team played the Chicago Bulls.

Four employees at The Keg Steakhouse and Bar in Seattle said Kemp mixed single shots of whiskey with beer over a 3-hour period while having dinner the night of Feb. 1, according to a story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Kemp was well-mannered but appeared intoxicated when he left around 2 a.m. Sunday, the employees told the paper. Tipoff was scheduled for 12:30 p.m. But Kemp, 27, denied the report.

“It was a table full of four people … and there were eight drinks ordered and that was for four people there. Not one person was going to sit there and drink them all. Regardless of what a person does, your private time is your private time,” Kemp told KING-TV.