The NBA selected one of the players' favorite cities for this year's All-Star Weekend, and Atlanta will be hopping into the wee hours of the morning as players from around the league -- All-Stars and otherwise -- flock to the capital of the new South.
"Guys have never really said that they like playing here when they're part of the [Hawks], but they all look forward to coming to play here," said Chris Webber, the only one of the 24 All-Stars who will be unable to play because of injury.
Atlanta is the city where Shaquille O'Neal spent his first day as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, signing with them in the summer of 1996 on the day the US men's basketball team arrived in town for the Olympics.
That was the day O'Neal proudly made the observation that he had won at every level except college and the pros -- a statement that was mocked at the time for indicating how truly clueless the next generation of players had become.
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