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Thursday Afternoon NBA Briefing - NBA News

You know about the 212 countries and 42 languages involved in the broadcast; the 24 hours of coverage you can find each day on NBA TV; the two million daily visitors that will log on to NBA.com during All-Star Weekend; the 18,997 fans that will pack the Staples Center to take in this year's festivities. In terms of on-the-court action, you're familiar with the 53 years of NBA All-Star tradition; the four All-Star MVP awards won by Bob Pettit; the two consecutive three-point shootout and slam dunk titles won by Peja Stojakovic and Jason Richardson, respectively. But what about the 35 minutes played by Michael Redd during his rookie season with Milwaukee (2000-01), or the 58 names called on draft day in 1998 that weren't Brad Miller.

Here are some not so obvious numbers that help capture the true essence of All-Star Weekend:

All-Star Fast Fact: The All-Star MVP award has been shared three times -- Elgin Baylor and Bob Pettit in 1959; Karl Malone and John Stockton in 1993; and Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan in 2000.

The NBA Legacy Event will take place today at 1 p.m. at the Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club, where the NBA will unveil a new Reading and Learning Center.

The NBA/WNBA Wheelchair Classic will take place tonight (7:30 p.m.) on Centre Court at Jam Session. WNBA players and NBA legends will serve as honorary coaches.

Tonight on NBA TV: Toronto at Seattle (10 p.m. EST). Toronto has won four of its last five games and three straight on the road. Sonics coach Nate McMillan needs three more wins to reach 150 for his coaching career. Rashard Lewis needs nine three-point field goals to pass Hersey Hawkins (469) for fifth place on the Sonics all-time list.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff and Dan Dickau make their Portland debut tonight as the Blazers host Denver. The Nuggets have won the previous two meetings this season. Marcus Camby has grabbed at least 10 rebounds in eight of his last nine games, averaging 14.0 rpg during this stretch.

This Day in NBA History: In 1989, a crowd of 44,735, the largest in NBA All-Star Game history, turned out at the Houston Astrodome to watch the West beat the East 143-134 in the 39th renewal, as Utah's Karl Malone won MVP honors after scoring a team-high 28 points.