Now there really isn't much left for Michael Jordan to accomplish in basketball. His Airness finally got to meet Wilt Chamberlain.
"It was brief," Jordan said Sunday. "He said he would love to sit down to converse; you know, explore some things. Because I'm going through some of the same things he went through."The NBA's greatest players, selected last October, were in Cleveland for All-Star weekend. Asked which players he wished he had played with, Jordan said Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
"I played against them so many times," Jordan said. "I'd like to see what it would be like to play with them."
Chris Webber, who is young enough to have idolized Jordan as a kid, got to meet the player his father idolized.
"I didn't realize how big a deal it was until I met Bill Russell," Webber said. "I just looked at him, and I realized, that's my father's Michael Jordan. That's the guy he tells me stories about."
Webber, a late addition to the injury-riddled Eastern Conference lineup, said Russell told him to ignore criticism that he didn't deserve to be an All-Star.
"I talked to him, and he had some encouraging words," Webber added. "More than anything, I needed someone like him to say good things about me."
Tom Gugliotta also was surprised by his reaction to meeting the greats.
"I found myself watching them," Gugliotta said. "I saw Wilt, and I thought about what he accomplished. The 100 point game - I said there's the guy who did it, right there."
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: Commissioner David Stern, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and Grant Hill appeared on "Meet The Press," a Sunday morning talk show more prone to report on politics than sports.
One of the liveliest exchanges concerned Allen Iverson, the Philadelphia 76ers rookie who has been criticized for his supposed lack of respect toward more established players.
Somewhat surprisingly, the commissioner came to Iverson's defense. Stern pointed out that Iverson's comments on the subject were made way back in November.
"I'd just like to say that I think it's been blown up a little bit out of proportion," Stern said. "Allan Iverson didn't say that a few days ago, he said it a months ago and it gets recycled.
"I think that people tend to forget that, for example, the elder statesman sitting at the other end of this row, Charles, has said a couple things in his career that occasioned comment and the like, but that's part of the growing process."
TRADE TALK: Mitch Richmond has heard his name mentioned in trade rumors, and no one from the Sacramento Kings' front office has called him or sat him down to dispel them.
"If it happens, I want to go to a contender," Richmond said.
Richmond said the rumor he has heard most has him going to the Seattle SuperSonics.
"Man, that would be some trade," Richmond said. "And that would be some scary team."
PIPPEN'S FUTURE: When the subject of Scottie Pippen's upcoming free agency (summer of 1998) came up, he tried to deflect it by suggesting a couple of impossibilities.
"I might retire. I might go play in Europe," Pippen said. "They might be giving away $100 million contracts in Europe by then. Who knows? They weren't giving them away in this league until a couple years ago."
Pippen planned to fly back to Chicago after the game Sunday night, and he lamented the fact that he had to report to practice - the Bulls' first with Dennis Rodman back from his 11-game suspension - at 10 a.m. Monday.
"I think every team in the league will be having practice (Monday)," Pippen said. "If you know any that aren't, let me know. I'm a free agent in less than two years."
NICE THREADS: Tim Hardaway said he didn't like the fact that the players wore their own uniforms instead of the usual All-Star threads.
"I'd rather have an All-Star uniform, because you can save them over the years," Hardaway said. "Here, we just get a patch."
Scottie Pippen liked the idea.
"I'm more comfortable in my own uniform," he said.
Who has the ugliest uniforms?
"Flip a coin between Atlanta and Houston and hope it doesn't come down," Pippen said.