ATLANTA - When the ball goes up for tipoff of the All-Star game at approximately 8:30 p.m. EST Sunday night, Shaquille O'Neal and Michael Jordan will be watching from the bench for the very first time. <br>
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Karl Malone will probably be off hunting or fishing, Reggie Miller might be on a beach, Grant Hill and Dikembe Mutombo will be recuperating, David Robinson will be planning his impending retirement. <br>
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A new generation of perennial All-Stars, along with the NBA's newest curiosity, will comprise the two starting units as the league holds its 52nd annual showcase event. <br>
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Four of the starters, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant and Jermaine O'Neal, jumped directly from high school to the pros without spending a day in college. <br>
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One of them, 7-foot-6 center Yao Ming, made the biggest leap of them all -- coming from China to the United States and becoming the first rookie to displace an established starting center since O'Neal did it to Patrick Ewing a decade ago. <br>
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This will be the first time in 25 years that the All-Star game has come to Atlanta. The last time was in 1978, when Randy Smith of the Buffalo Braves came off the bench to lead all scorers with 27 points. <br>
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Commissioner David Stern recalls that 25 years ago they were worrying about getting media in this country to cover them. Now they have to worry about where to put all the media from all over the world.
