All-Star fun

The cool thing about All-Star games, in most every sport, is the average fan sometimes gets an opportunity to get a closer look at the sport’s legendary players.

The NBA is no different. Probably even has an advantage over most other sports.

At the All-Star Jam session Saturday, fans can test their vertical leap, shoot baskets at a goal on the back of ESPN’s famous traveling bus or partake in a myriad of exhibits sprinkled throughout the Dallas Convention Center.

For a few lucky fans, Center Court activities provided lifetime memories.

The East All-Stars “practiced” Saturday morning for 45 minutes. Practice is a loose term. It was more like LeBron James, Dwight Howard, the three Celtics stars and their teammates shooting baskets in front of the masses.

But during an hour-long break before the West All-Stars “practiced,” the entertainment was an NBA regular-season game times 10. An acrobatic, jump-roping, break-dancing team from Houston put on a show. A couple of Harlem Globetrotters performed tricks and broke Guinness Book world records for most half-court hook shots and spinning a ball for seven seconds on their head.