Scheduleall-star gamerookie game
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Allen Iverson
Allen Iverson displays his MVP trophy.

Pick of the litter

The first player picked in the 1996 NBA draft picked apart his fellow young pups Saturday and was picked as the MVP of the Schick Rookie Game. Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson had 19 points and nine assists in a dazzling floor game as the East youngsters edged the West team 96-91 in the fourth annual showcase of the NBA's freshman class. Lakers rookie Kobe Bryant made probably an even stronger case for MVP honors with a game-high 31 points, but the 18-year-old played on the losing squad.
Features
Auerbach finds no generation gap
East coach Red Auerbach found his players to be far from the irreverent bunch they've been labeled.

Growing pains
The Lakers' rookie trio has inflicted its share of hurt on opponents.

Q&A with Kobe Bryant
He participated in the rookie game and dunk contest, but the young Laker still had time for Zone users.

Travis Knight's chat with users
The Lakers rookie forward talks about being released by the Chicago Bulls.

1997 roster
EAST
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Team College
Ray Allen G 6-5 205 Milwaukee Bucks Connecticut
Marcus Camby F 6-11 220 Toronto Raptors Massachusetts
Erick Dampier C 6-11 265 Indiana Pacers Mississippi State
Allen Iverson G 6-0 165 Philadelphia 76ers Georgetown
Kerry Kittles G 6-5 179 New Jersey Nets Villanova
Vitaly Potapenko C 6-10 280 Cleveland Cavaliers Wright State
Antoine Walker F 6-8 224 Boston Celtics Kentucky
John Wallace F 6-8 225 New York Knicks Syracuse
Coach: Red Auerbach
WEST
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Team College
Shareef Abdur-Rahim F 6-10 220 Vancouver Grizzlies California
Kobe Bryant G 6-6 200 Los Angeles Lakers None
y-Derek Fisher G 6-1 200 Los Angeles Lakers Ark.-Little Rock
Travis Knight C 7-0 235 Los Angeles Lakers Connecticut
Matt Maloney G 6-3 192 Houston Rockets Pennsylvania
x-Stephon Marbury G 6-2 180 Minnesota Timberwolves Georgia Tech
Steve Nash G 6-3 195 Phoenix Suns Santa Clara
Roy Rogers F 6-10 238 Vancouver Grizzlies Alabama
Semaki Walker F 6-9 240 Dallas Mavericks Louisville
Coach: Red Holzman
x-injured, will not play
y-injury replacement

 

 

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