The 2000 All-Star Game was destined to be remembered by the world; it was the most earnest All-Star event in NBA history and also the most entertaining.
As a sports competition, the excitement didn't lie in farther three-pointers or more explosive slam dunks.
It was about the competition itself.
You could understand why, in the past or in the future, those stars might act the way they did; no one wants to get injured in a showy game like this, no one wanted to draw an offensive foul from Shaquille O'Neal in an All-Star Game.
And that's where the value of this game lay.
Both sides showed what a competitive match with a collection of top stars looked like.
This game revived the NBA from the doldrums of suspension and spread Roger's influence even further.
Of course, it also gave Roger a phase-run victory in his war with Shaq.
