The 1999 NBA All-Stars

One of the worst things about the 1998-99 NBA lockout (for me, at least) was the cancellation of the All-Star game. As a kid, I always looked forward to the ridiculous athleticism on display and sheer amount of fun that game always is - despite its ultimate irrelevance and the fact that it can only loosely be called a "basketball game." As an adult, I still look forward to those same things, but even more than that, I look forward to seeing who gets the honor of being named to the team. Furthermore, those All-Star selections add up and can be an excellent indicator for historical relevance. The 32 games that were missed during the 1999 season really aren't that big of a deal in terms of career totals - they can basically be written off as an extended injury. But you'll never get those All-Star selections back. (This was my biggest worry about losing the 2012 season - not getting the awards and the stats to accurately reflect a player's historical significance/greatness. Well, the biggest worry about besides not getting to watch basketball.) Anyway, with that in mind, this is a one-time one-off project I've been wanting to do for quite some time but finally have the means to do so: figuring out who would/should have made the 1999 All-Star Game.

Starters

Stats and team success are pretty irrelevant as far as the starters go. Since the starters are voted in by the fans we just go with the most popular players at the time. And how do we figure that out? I'll just look at who the starters (and the next highest vote getters) were in the two years prior and two years after the 1999 season.

1997 East Guards

1. Michael Jordan - 2,451,136 votes

2. Anfernee Hardaway - 1,132,024 votes

3. Allen Iverson - 567,641 votes

4. Reggie Miller - 506,553 votes

5. Joe Dumars - 428,535 votes

1998 East Guards

1. Michael Jordan - 1,028,235 votes

2. Anfernee Hardaway - 509,626 votes

3. Tim Hardaway - 349,621 votes

4. Allen Iverson - 338,413 votes

5. Reggie Miller - 221,814 votes

2000 East Guards

1. Allen Iverson - 1,843,011 votes

2. Eddie Jones - 734,940 votes

3. Allan Houston - 600,876 votes

4. Stephon Marbury - 492,349 votes

5. Ray Allen - 443,295 votes

2001 East Guards

1. Allen Iverson - 1,508,142 votes

2. Tracy McGrady - 827,122 votes

3. Tim Hardaway - 691,895 votes

4. Reggie Miller - 622,978 votes

5. Eddie Jones - 519,132 votes

Jordan was retired in 1999 so he's not an option there, and the fans clearly didn't know what they wanted to do in 2000. No disrespect to Eddie Jones, but... c'mon. So it seems likely that Anfernee Hardaway would've carried over his popularity one more year to 1999 (considering he still finished 5th in the West in 2000) and it's almost a certainty that Iverson would've joined him.

1997 East Forwards

1. Grant Hill - 1,868,020 votes

2. Scottie Pippen - 1,683,956 votes

3. Dennis Rodman - 887,483 votes

4. Chris Webber - 396,365 votes

5. Juwan Howard - 283,512 votes

1998 East Forwards

1. Grant Hill - 838,692 votes

2. Shawn Kemp - 518,361 votes

3. Scottie Pippen - 475,894 votes

4. Dennis Rodman - 333,865 votes

5. Glen Rice - 270,277 votes

2000 East Forwards

1. Vince Carter - 1,911,973 votes

2. Grant Hill - 1,371,304 votes

3. Latrell Sprewell - 785,302 votes

4. Marcus Camby - 477,672 votes

5. Shawn Kemp - 351,843 votes

2001 East Forwards

1. Vince Carter - 1,717,687 votes

2. Grant Hill - 904,885 votes

3. Latrell Sprewell - 817,855 votes

4. Brian Grant - 670,923 votes

5. Jamal Mashburn - 425,558 votes

Grant Hill is a lock here, considering he was the starter all four of these years. And the options for the second forward look like the come down to Vince Carter and Shawn Kemp. (Scottie Pippen was playing in Houston in 1999, so he can't make it here.) I'm gonna go with Kemp since he actually had a really good year, and it seems unlikely that Carter would get voted in as a rookie.

1997 East Centers

1. Patrick Ewing - 1,395,759 votes

2. Alonzo Mourning - 1,041,570 votes

3. Dikembe Mutombo - 541,528 votes

1998 East Centers

1. Dikembe Mutombo - 476,532 votes

2. Patrick Ewing - 441,347 votes

3. Alonzo Mourning - 363,765 votes

2000 East Centers

1. Alonzo Mourning - 1,878,588 votes

2. Patrick Ewing - 298,985 votes

3. Dikembe Mutombo - 277,768 votes

2001 East Centers

1. Alonzo Mourning - 917,866 votes

2. Theo Ratliff - 637,585 votes

3. Dikembe Mutombo - 627,148 votes

This one is pretty clearly going to be Mourning - considering by how much he blew everyone else away in 2000 and was right in the thick of things in 1997 and 1998.

1997 West Guards

1. Gary Payton - 1,206,539 votes

2. John Stockton - 1,127,250 votes

3. Clyde Drexler - 926,432 votes

4. Jason Kidd - 911,858 votes

5. Nick Van Exel - 447, 347 votes

1998 West Guards

1. Gary Payton - 555,715 votes

2. Kobe Bryant - 395,686 votes

3. John Stockton - 344,259 votes

4. Stephon Marbury - 331,749 votes

5. Jason Kidd - 305,834 votes

2000 West Guards

1. Jason Kidd - 1,061,031 votes

2. Kobe Bryant - 1,022,897 votes

3. Gary Payton - 898,601 votes

4. Jason Williams - 884,746 votes

5. Anfernee Hardaway - 529,191 votes

2001 West Guards

1. Kobe Bryant - 1,433,747 votes

2. Jason Kidd - 1,062,837 votes

3. Jason Williams - 925,310 votes

4. Gary Payton - 732,671 votes

5. Derek Anderson - 514,605 votes

Bryant seems a lock here since he started the games both before and after 1999. The other spot's either going to be Kidd or Payton. I'm going to assume Payton because of how much more popular he was than Kidd in 1998. (Either way, they're both making the squad, so it's not like it matters too much which one starts.)

1997 West Forwards

1. Charles Barkley - 1,877,232 votes

2. Shawn Kemp - 1,713,049 votes

3. Karl Malone - 1,337,319 votes

4. Kevin Garnett - 481,911 votes

5. Tom Gugliotta - 280,504 votes

1998 West Forwards

1. Karl Malone - 616,251 votes

2. Kevin Garnett - 513,325 votes

3. Charles Barkley - 479,005 votes

4. Tim Duncan - 423,970 votes

5. Vin Baker - 360,079 votes

2000 West Forwards

1. Kevin Garnett - 1,550,976 votes

2. Tim Duncan - 1,321,436 votes

3. Scottie Pippen - 662,341 votes

4. Chris Webber - 661,865 votes

5. Karl Malone - 327,599 votes

2001 West Forwards

1. Chris Webber - 1,306,243 votes

2. Tim Duncan - 1,096,522 votes

3. Kevin Garnett - 1,003,336 votes

4. Scottie Pippen - 587,767 votes

5. Rasheed Wallace - 510,543 votes

I think this one is going to Garnett and Duncan. They seem to be the most consistent vote getters throughout this span of years.

1997 West Centers

1. Hakeem Olajuwon - 1,487,310 votes

2. Shaquille O'Neal - 1,305,941 votes

3. David Robinson - 753,247 votes

1998 West Centers

1. Shaquille O'Neal - 565,184 votes

2. David Robinson - 548,633 votes

3. Hakeem Olajuwon - 325,072 votes

2000 West Centers

1. Shaquille O'Neal - 1,807,609 votes

2. David Robinson - 595,451 votes

3. Vlade Divac - 254,604 votes

2001 West Centers

1. Shaquille O'Neal - 1,541,298 votes

2. David Robinson - 716,228 votes

3. Vlade Divac - 715,687 votes

Shaq. No contest.

So here's what we're looking at for starting lineups:

East

G - Allen Iverson (PHI)

G - Anfernee Hardaway (ORL)

F - Grant Hill (DET)

F - Shawn Kemp (CLE)

C - Alonzo Mourning (MIA)

West

G - Kobe Bryant (LAL)

G - Gary Payton (SEA)

F - Tim Duncan (SAS)

F - Kevin Garnett (MIN)

C - Shaquille O'Neal (LAL)

Reserves

I'm almost positive that in 1999, coaches were required to select two guards, two forwards, a center, and two wild cards. However, unlike today, they were not allowed to shuffle players around. David Robinson was a center. End of story. Tim Duncan was a forward. End of story. You couldn't plug one guy into another spot even if it helped the team considerably. So, I'm going to go with those old school rules and force players to fill the slots that they filled for the majority of the season. Also, in regard to the first set of reserves (the next two guards, two forwards, and center), I'll be looking at points per game, rebounds per game, and assists per game (the major factors I think most voters even today look at.) I'll also look a little bit at the team records through 2/3rds of the season, which is typically when the All-Star Game is held, but I won't put as much stock into it as voters typically do for a regular season since the 1999 season was so short and so sloppy. And since the season was so short and sloppy, I'm also going to take into account Win Shares and PER.

(One other thing to keep in mind here: the team records are through 2/3rds of the season, but the stats are for the entire season. I had no way to find the stats through 32 games, so this will just have to do.)

Eastern Guard Reserve Contenders (listed by PER)

Darrell Armstrong (ORL)  13.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 6.7 APG, 22.2 PER, 6.4 WS, 25-10 (.714)

Stephon Marbury (NJN)    21.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 8.9 APG, 20.8 PER, 5.3 WS, 9-23 (.281)

Rod Strickland (WAS)        15.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 9.9 APG, 20.2 PER, 4.1 WS, 13-19 (.406)

Vince Carter (TOR)             18.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.0 APG, 19.6 PER, 5.0 WS, 18-14 (.563)

Ray Allen (MIL)                   17.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 18.9 PER, 5.2 WS, 19-13 (.594)

Tim Hardaway (MIA)         17.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 7.3 APG, 18.8 PER, 5.4 WS, 20-11 (.545)

Reggie Miller (IND)            18.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 2.2 APG, 18.7 PER, 6.4 WS, 23-11 (.676)

Eddie Jones (CHH)             15.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.7 APG, 18.5 PER, 6.0 WS, 12-20 (.375)

Steve Smith (ATL)              18.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.3 APG, 17.9 PER, 4.4 WS, 21-14 (.600)

Mitch Richmond (WAS)     19.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, 15.5 PER, 3.3 WS 13-19 (.406)

As much as I hate to name an All-Star from a terrible team, if you told me there was a point guard averaging  21.3 PPG and 8.9 APG with 20.8 PER - I'd say, no doubt about it, he's a lock. So, congratulations Stephon Marbury. Our other major contenders here are Armstrong, Strickland, Carter, Hardaway, and Miller. The coaches don't really like to vote in rookies unless they're just far and away dominating everyone. Carter had a good year, but far from dominating. And as much as I'd love to put Armstrong on, Penny Hardaway's voting in pretty much kills his chances. That leaves Strickland, Hardaway, and Miller, and as sad as it is, established veterans always get the nod over new guys in close calls. So that leaves us with Tim Hardaway and Reggie Miller, similar PPG, similar PER, similar record, but Hardaway is dominating in assists, so this one goes to him.

Western Guard Reserve Contenders

Jason Kidd (PHO)                16.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 10.8 APG, 22.5 PER, 8.1 WS, 15-18 (.455)

John Stockton (UTA)           11.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 7.5 APG, 21.9 PER, 6.4 WS, 23-8 (.742)

Terrell Brandon (MIN)       13.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 8.6 APG, 19.5 PER, 3.2 WS, 20-13 (.606)

Michael Finley (DAL)         20.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.4 APG, 19.2 PER, 5.4 WS, 11-23 (.324)

Jeff Hornacek (UTA)           12.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.0 APG, 17.8 PER, 5.3 WS, 23-8 (.742)

Nick Van Exel (DEN)           16.5 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 7.4 APG, 16.7 PER, 2.2 WS, 10-25 (.286) 

Chauncey Billups (DEN)     13.9 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 3.8 APG, 15.1 PER, 2.3 WS, 10-25 (.286)

Mike Bibby (VAN)               13.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 6.7 APG, 14.8 PER, 1.3 WS, 6-27 (.182)

Damon Stoudamire (POR) 12.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 6.2 APG, 14.7 PER, 3.6 WS, 26-6 (.813)

Isaiah Rider (POR)              13.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, 13.7 PER, 2.5 WS, 26-6 (.813)

Well Kidd's a lock. If you need me to explain why, then you really don't know much about this game I love so much. Really, the only other legitimate contenders here are Stockton and Brandon, and, going with established veteran status and team success, this one goes to Stockton. (You could make a pretty compelling case for either Van Exel or Finley, but I don't think either of them are beating out Stockton.)

Eastern Forward Reserve Contenders

Tracy McGrady (TOR)      9.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.3 APG, 20.6 PER, 3.3 WS, 18-14 (.563)

Glenn Robinson (MIL)   18.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 19.7 PER, 4.0 WS, 19-13 (.594)

Keith Van Horn (NJN)   21.8 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, 19.6 PER, 3.7 WS, 9-23 (.281)

Paul Pierce (BOS)            16.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, 19.2 PER, 4.9 WS, 10-22 (.313)

Toni Kukoc (CHI)           18.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 5.3 APG, 18.6 PER, 2.8 WS, 10-23 (.303)

Chris Mullin (IND)          10.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.6 APG, 18.1 PER, 4.1 WS, 23-11 (.676)

Juwan Howard (WAS)   18.9 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 3.0 APG, 17.1 PER, 2.8 WS, 13-19 (.406)

Antoine Walker (BOS)   18.7 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 3.1 APG, 17.0 PER, 2.6 WS, 10-22 (.313)

Dale Davis (IND)              8.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 0.4 APG, 16.6 PER, 4.5 WS, 23-11 (.676)

Larry Johnson (NYK)     12.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 14.6 PER, 4.9 WS, 18-15 (.545)

Remember what I wrote about Stephon Marbury just a little bit ago. Read it again, only this time replace Stephon Marbury's name with Keith Van Horn's. Good Lord, I really hate putting two guys from an awful Nets team on the All-Star team. But I just can't keep a guy with those numbers off the team. As for the second spot, with all respect to T-Mac and his awesome PER, he's not making an All-Star game with 9.3 PPG. The next best candidates with good all-around stats are Robinson, Kukoc, Howard, and Walker. Kukoc is not making this team. I simply refuse to put another player from a terrible team on here. Howard and Walker are virtually identical here - points, rebounds, assists, PER, win shares, and records are all basically the same. They have the slight edge on Robinson in RPG and APG, but Robinson has a pretty significant edge in PER, win shares, and team success, so the Big Dog gets the nod here.

Western Forward Reserve Contenders

Karl Malone (UTA)                  23.8 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 4.1 APG, 25.6 PER, 9.6 WS, 23-8 (.742)

Charles Barkley (HOU)            16.1 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 4.6 APG, 23.1 PER, 6.8 WS, 21-12 (.636)

Antonio McDyess (DEN)         21.2 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 1.6 APG, 21.7 PER, 4.2 WS, 10-25 (.286)

Shareef Abdur-Rahim (VAN) 23.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 3.4 APG, 20.7 PER, 4.6 WS, 6-27 (.182)

Tom Gugliotta (PHO)              17.0 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 2.8 APG, 20.0 PER, 5.4 WS, 15-18 (.455)

Chris Webber (SAC)                20.0 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 4.1 APG, 19.5 PER, 3.6 WS, 14-19 (.424)

Detlef Schrempf (SEA)             15.0 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 3.7 APG, 18.4 PER, 5.8 WS, 16-16 (.500)

Clifford Robinson (PHO)         16.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.6 APG, 18.3 PER, 5.3 WS, 15-18 (.455)

Brian Grant (POR)                     11.5 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 1.4 APG, 17.0 PER, 5.9 WS, 26-6 (.813)

Scottie Pippen (HOU)               14.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.9 APG, 16.8 PER, 4.9 WS, 21-12 (.636)

Malone seems a lock here. The second slot is going to go to either Barkley or McDyess. McDyess has the better PPG while Barkley has the better RPG. But, as before, I think tie goes to the team success and veteran status. Barkley gets it.

Eastern Center Reserve Contenders

Rik Smits (IND)                    14.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.1 APG, 20.2 PER, 3.4 WS, 23-11 (.676)

Patrick Ewing (NYK)            17.3 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 19.4 PER, 3.3 WS, 18-15 (.545)

Dikembe Mutombo (ATL)  10.8 PPG, 12.2 RPG, 1.1 APG, 18.8 PER, 7.9 WS, 21-14 (.600)

Elden Campbell (CHH)        12.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.4 APG, 18.1 PER, 4.3 WS, 12-20 (.375)

Theo Ratliff (PHI)                 11.2 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 0.6 APG, 16.9 PER, 5.4 WS, 16-16 (.500)

This is a tough call. Ewing or Mutombo? (Smits's low rebounds take him out of the running.) I'm going to give it to Mutombo, based on the rebounds and the ridiculous win share total.

Western Center Reserve Contenders

David Robinson (SAS)          15.8 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 2.1 APG, 24.9 PER, 8.4 WS, 23-10 (.697)

Hakeem Olajuwon (HOU)   18.9 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 1.8 APG, 23.1 PER, 6.5 WS, 21-12 (.636)

Arvydas Sabonis (POR)        12.1 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.4 APG, 20.4 PER, 5.8 WS, 26-6 (.813)

Shawn Bradley (DAL)            8.6 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 0.8 APG, 19.6 PER, 4.2 WS, 11-23 (.324)

Vlade Divac (SAC)                14.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 4.3 APG, 18.0 PER, 5.2 WS, 14-19 (.424)

This is an even tougher call. Robinson or Olajuwon? (Sabonis is no easy toss out, either.) Ultimately Olajuwon has the better PPG, but Robinson trumps him in every other category, so we're gonna have to go with the Admiral here.

East Roster (so far)

G - Allen Iverson (PHI)

G - Anfernee Hardaway (ORL)

G - Stephon Marbury (NJN)

G - Tim Hardaway (MIA)

F - Grant Hill (DET)

F - Shawn Kemp (CLE)

F - Keith Van Horn (NJN)

F - Glenn Robinson (MIL)

C - Alonzo Mourning (MIA)

C - Dikembe Mutombo (ATL)

West Roster (so far)

G - Kobe Bryant (LAL)

G - Gary Payton (SEA)

G - Jason Kidd (PHO)

G - John Stockton (UTA)

F - Kevin Garnett (MIN)

F - Tim Duncan (SAS)

F - Karl Malone (UTA)

F - Charles Barkley (HOU)

C - Shaquille O'Neal (LAL)

C - David Robinson (SAS)

The Wild Card spots are where you usually see players getting in based on team success. Luckily, this is a year where no team's are far and away out front, so we don't have to worry about making sure there are two or more players from an "elite" team. (I always felt that was a dumb concept, but, it's the world we live in.) So far, the only really good teams (.600 or better) that are missing All-Stars are the Pacers and Blazers, so pencil one player from each of those teams for the two remaining slots in both conferences.

Eastern Wild Card Contenders

Darrell Armstrong (ORL)  13.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 6.7 APG, 22.2 PER, 6.4 WS, 25-10 (.714)

Rod Strickland (WAS)        15.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 9.9 APG, 20.2 PER, 4.1 WS, 13-19 (.406)

Vince Carter (TOR)             18.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.0 APG, 19.6 PER, 5.0 WS, 18-14 (.563)

Ray Allen (MIL)                   17.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 18.9 PER, 5.2 WS, 19-13 (.594)

Reggie Miller (IND)            18.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 2.2 APG, 18.7 PER, 6.4 WS, 23-11 (.676)

Eddie Jones (CHH)             15.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.7 APG, 18.5 PER, 6.0 WS, 12-20 (.375)

Steve Smith (ATL)              18.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.3 APG, 17.9 PER, 4.4 WS, 21-14 (.600)

Mitch Richmond (WAS)     19.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, 15.5 PER, 3.3 WS 13-19 (.406)

Juwan Howard (WAS)       18.9 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 3.0 APG, 17.1 PER, 2.8 WS, 13-19 (.406)

Antoine Walker (BOS)       18.7 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 3.1 APG, 17.0 PER, 2.6 WS, 10-22 (.313)

Patrick Ewing (NYK)          17.3 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 19.4 PER, 3.3 WS, 18-15 (.545)

Well, Reggie Miller looks to be the Pacers representative on this squad. And I think I have to give the last nod to Patrick Ewing.

Western Wild Card Contenders

Terrell Brandon (MIN)            13.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 8.6 APG, 19.5 PER, 3.2 WS, 20-13 (.606)

Michael Finley (DAL)              20.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.4 APG, 19.2 PER, 5.4 WS, 11-23 (.324)

Nick Van Exel (DEN)                16.5 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 7.4 APG, 16.7 PER, 2.2 WS, 10-25 (.286) 

Antonio McDyess (DEN)         21.2 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 1.6 APG, 21.7 PER, 4.2 WS, 10-25 (.286)

Shareef Abdur-Rahim (VAN) 23.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 3.4 APG, 20.7 PER, 4.6 WS, 6-27 (.182)

Tom Gugliotta (PHO)              17.0 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 2.8 APG, 20.0 PER, 5.4 WS, 15-18 (.455)

Chris Webber (SAC)                20.0 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 4.1 APG, 19.5 PER, 3.6 WS, 14-19 (.424)

Hakeem Olajuwon (HOU)       18.9 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 1.8 APG, 23.1 PER, 6.5 WS, 21-12 (.636)

Arvydas Sabonis (POR)            12.1 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.4 APG, 20.4 PER, 5.8 WS, 26-6 (.813)

Well I'm gonna go ahead and give the Portland slot to Sabonis. The man deserved to be an All-Star at least once in his career, and this was a hell of a year for him. The last spot I think is down to McDyess and Webber. I know McDyess has the better PER and WS, but Webber's rebounds and assists put him over the top.

"Injury" Replacements

As with any All-Star game, we can assume there will be at least one player who doesn't play due to injury - or whatever reason. Since we have no idea who that would be this year, I'm giving one injury slot to each squad. For the West, it's going to McDyess. For the East, I think I'm gonna take a wild card and go with Rod Strickland. Ten assists a game should merit an All-Star selection in my mind. Regardless of how your team is doing, that's impressive.

***BONUS SPOT!***

Since Karl Malone was notorious for hating playing in All-Star games (literally, he loathed them the way Shaq loathed working out in the offseason...), I'm just going to assume he opts out of this one in favor of, I dunno, fishing? Hunting? Being a horrible father to his illegitimate children? Whatever. It's his prerogative. So, I'm giving his spot to Olajuwon. (Really, in the man's last three All-Star selections, he played a total of seven minutes. Combined. He did not want to be there.)

Final Rosters

East

Patrick Ewing (NYK)

Anfernee Hardaway (ORL)*

Tim Hardaway (MIA)

Grant Hill (DET)*

Allen Iverson (PHI)*

Shawn Kemp (CLE)*

Stephon Marbury (NJN)

Reggie Miller (IND)

Alonzo Mourning (MIA)*

Dikembe Mutombo (ATL)

Glenn Robinson (MIL)

Rod Strickland (WAS)

Keith Van Horn (NJN)

West

Charles Barkley (HOU)

Kobe Bryant (LAL)*

Tim Duncan (SAS)*

Kevin Garnett (MIN)*

Jason Kidd (PHO)

Karl Malone (UTA)

Antonio McDyess (DEN)

Shaquille O'Neal (LAL)*

Hakeem Olajuwon (HOU)

Gary Payton (SEA)*

David Robinson (SAS)

Arvydas Sabonis (POR)

John Stockton (UTA)

Chris Webber (SAC)

So there you have it. The 1999 NBA All-Stars. Almost 13 years later.