2003 NBA All-Star game quotes from the Eastern conference, from after the game. The questions were asked by various media members.

ISIAH THOMAS, Indiana Pacers

Q: At the end of regulation came after the time-out, the ball went to Michael Jordan and didn't make it. At the end of the first overtime, what were the instructions, to go again to Michael?

Thomas: Yeah, at the end of the game, we definitely wanted to put the basketball in his hands and try to let him make a shot and try to make it end the right way.

I thought in the first overtime, he missed a shot. And then the guys battled back and they kept fighting. I thought it was a very competitive game. I thought the teams really honored and respected the game.

They went out and they played it the right way, and from a competitive standpoint, it was extremely competitive, and the guys fought back and got into it on the second overtime and put ourselves in the position to have a chance to let Michael take the last shot again. This time, you know, you give that guy two chances, he's going to make one of them.

And he delivered it. It was a great shot, it was a great moment. The fans went crazy. It was nice. It was very nice.

Q: At what point was the decision made that Michael would start and that Vince would step aside, and did you ever at any point directly challenge Vince to do that?

Thomas: No, actually it was a team decision. The team wanted to do something special for Jordan. It's a young generation that wanted to honor him. They grew up watching him play and seeing special moments. They wanted to be respectful to the history of the game.

By Vince being from Carolina, it was voted on that he should do it. It was two Carolina guys acknowledging their history, and I thought it was very big of him to do it that way and understand the moment. I thought, whether it would have been Vince, Ben, Allen, Tracy, every guy in the locker room wanted to give up his spot and none of the guys would go out on the floor unless Jordan started the game. It was a special moment.

Q: You said there was a vote taken?

Thomas: No. There was no vote. I mean, the guys just -- everybody would have did it. Every man would have given up his spot for Jordan.

Had he not taken it, I think the guys probably wouldn't have started the game.

Q: Usually All-Star games are free-style, fun-paced games, but as the closing minutes ended, two overtimes, it was really competitive. What were some of the strategies you changed over to?

Thomas: Just wanted to make sure that our guys compete. You don't really have to have too much strategy when you have players like this out on the floor. I think the most important thing was, you know, the way they started the game and the statement that I think both teams made when starting the game.

You know, we wanted to respect the game and be true to the game. My speech to them was that, you know, it's a game where if you wanted to play playground basketball, we could get 12 guys off the playground and put them on this stage and let them play. You are the best players in the world, so you should go out and act that way and perform that way, and tonight they did.

MICHAEL JORDAN, Washington Wizards

Q: The emotion in the room tonight obviously was very overwhelming about your last time. Do you think this is the way it's going to be now for the rest of the season as you go around the league? And at the same time, do you take time to look around the buildings as you go through the last time, things like that?

Jordan: Oh, I mean, hopefully it doesn't get like this everywhere I go. Obviously, everybody knows there are very few places where I'm going to go and hopefully it will be my last time there, but not with the fanfare today. I will look around, yes. I have a lot of memories of a lot of places, but I just want to go there, play the game, try to make the playoffs, keep beating teams that we can beat, teams we haven't beat, we want to beat them, too. Just try to keep moving on, get this thing over and done with. Hey, I've got memories to live with, and I will enjoy the rest of the season, no matter how you look at it.

Q: Do you think it was kind of symbolic that this evening, maybe passing the torch, you did your part, making that shot in the first overtime, but then Kobe doing things and taking the game and eventually --

Jordan: They should have never made that call. They complained about the refs all year. (Laughter) Just kidding.

The game could have ended either ways. It was fine. The most important thing, as I told my teammates and everybody should have known, I wanted to be competitive. I didn't want it to be where one guy let one guy score and to let the other guy come down and score. I wanted it to be a competitive game. It was a fun ending anyway you look at it. It was a competitive game. Obviously I would much rather won the game, me making the shots or my teammates making the shot.

It didn't happen way, but good, it still was competitive. I'm happy with that.

Q: What was going on with you at halftime while the tribute was going on?

Jordan: You know, I was happy. As I looked, I felt like it brought back a lot of good memories. I think it was -- I felt very proud that I made my commitment to the game of basketball.

It was emotional and it was fun. There was a mix of a lot of young kids that probably watched a lot of those things that I did and now I'm going to be watching them. I felt like the transition has arrived where I can get back and watch these kids play.

But it was good reminiscing. I felt the pressure from everybody in the building, and it was fun. I felt very appreciative for what the league did for me, and I think it's a good way for me to leave the game and say, you know what, it's time for me to go home and watch the rest of these kids play.

Q: Was there ever any doubt in your mind that you were actually going to start this game?

Jordan: It was my wishes. These guys went against my wishes in a sense.

Obviously it was a last-minute decision with Vince. I felt like he had taken a beating and he shouldn't have. I think he was being very respectful, after all, I've been taught from my parents, be respectful for people for giving you an opportunity. He wanted to do that and he was being criticized for it. I could have easily come off the bench and was proud to do that. I was happy to be here as a coach's selection. I didn't want anybody to feel bad about anything that was happening this weekend. I did not want a black cloud over this weekend for me. I didn't want to leave the game that way.

But he was very, very kind in offering me that and I felt it was very genuine from his standpoint. And I didn't want him to take any more of a beating and so that's why I stepped in and took his spot.

Q: When you were talking to Kobe when he was on the line, were you trying to needle him or tell him not to feel split?

Jordan: I didn't want him to make it. So I was needling him to miss it. It was a lot of conversation out there. I mean, you know, in past All-Star games, there's always been conversation. It's always been ways to get guys motivated and get the game serious.

I think that happened a little bit in the middle of the third quarter right on throughout the rest of the game. That's how I grew up playing in the All-Star Game.

Q: You looked so relieved when you made that almost game-winning shot in the first overtime. What was going through your head?

Jordan: Yeah, I mean, I wanted to win the game. I felt like we had a chance to win and I was a part of it. I think everybody wanted me to be a part of it.

The whole night, I felt like -- I haven't played since Tuesday. I have not picked up the ball. So it took a while for me to even get a rhythm. I know everybody wanted me to take shots and make a lot of shots, but I'm no different than guys who have had four days vacation. Sometimes you come back to work and you've got a lot of paperwork on your desk. It took a while just to get it back. So I really enjoyed tonight. As much as I wanted to play well, I felt good being out there.

Q: You talked about passing the torch on to younger players. You spoke about passing it on during your speech. Any particular one young player now that you can think of could pick up where you left off?

Jordan: I wasn't thinking in terms of one particular player. I don't think when it was passed on to me they were picking me out as the one person. I think I evolved to be the guy that led that group of guys.

As I look at tomorrow's athlete, I can't pick one above the other. I think in certain situations, Kobe is going to be a guy who can step to the forefront, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, Shaquille O'Neal and you've got a new kid coming in, Yao Ming. So somebody is going to step to the forefront from that group and probably assume a certain responsibility, as I have, over the years. But to pick that one guy right now, I don't think I could do that.

Q: Did Vince come to you and personally make the offer, and if he did, what did he say?

Jordan: He came to me right before we were going to get out on the court. He said, "I want you to take this spot. I feel you're very deserving of it and I'm not going to go back out there unless you go out and take this spot." I didn't want this whole thing to be, you know, a cloud.

"Okay, Vince, I'll take the spot. Because I think you're very deserving of the spot." I just don't want any more negative press about the kid. He doesn't deserve that. I want him to enjoy the rest of his career. And I don't want my leaving to mar the rest of his career. That's the reason why I assumed that responsibility.

TRACY McGRADY, Orlando Magic

Q: What is it like playing with a hero, a guy like Michael Jordan? What's it like playing with him?

McGrady: It's great. It's an honor for me. Michael is a guy that I grew up watching, and he's very inspirational. He's not only a great player; he's a great person, as well of the just being around him this weekend it was really a blessing, man. I know he's a hero to a lot of people and a lot of people would love to be in my position. It's just an honor to be here.

Q: How has the City of Atlanta welcomed you? I know when you came in, you saw pictures of yourself everywhere. How has your experience been?

McGrady: It was cool. Usually when I come here, it's about 18 people in the stands. (Laughter) so, it was cool. It was cool, man.

Q: You got it going in the third quarter; you were a little sick, how were you feeling physically?

McGrady: Well, if y'all don't know, during the starting lineup, I was back there, I was throwing up. I wasn't feeling too good the whole weekend. You know, today it really settled in. I was feeling a little weak, about to pass out, but once I got to sweating, I felt good and I had it rolling in the third quarter. I just felt good once I started playing.

Q: Can you talk about the decision to start Michael? Was there a vote taken by you guys?

McGrady: You know what, I didn't have any idea. Yesterday we talked about it collectively and tried to convince Mike to start but he really wasn't going for it.

He was talking in that tone where he meant what he said; that he wasn't going to go out there, regardless of the situation of what we was going to do.

I was going to try to forget my jersey in the locker room, that way he had to start and go out there. But I had no idea that Vince was going to give up his spot.

Q: You seem to play a very aggressive game in terms of your output, were you going after the MVP award?

McGrady: No, man. I was having fun, that's all, enjoying the game. That's what it's all about. I really wasn't going out there trying to win the MVP. I was just having fun just playing my game. My game is usually really laid back anyway. Just enjoying the weekend and enjoying the game and having fun. That's what it's about.

Q: Why do you think that Michael declined your offer and declined Allen's offer to start, but took Vince up on his?

McGrady: Well, I think at the time when I made my decision and Allen made his decision on giving up the starting lineup, I think he declined us because I think he didn't want to make Vince look bad. That just shows his professionalism. He was just looking out for his guy. They are both Carolina guys and he didn't want to -- if I would have gave up my spot, that would have really made Vince look bad. They were just taking care of each other.

Q: It's such a different thing to be surrounded by so many excellent teammates. You're one of five All-Stars on the court and something we take for granted watching this game. What's it like to be on the court with so many talented players?

McGrady: You know what, it's great, man. This is my third consecutive year. We've got 24 of the best players in the world participating in one game and just having fun. I grew up watching this game, watching Jordan, watching Magic and Bird play in this game, and to be a part of this, is really an honor and a blessing. Hopefully, I've got many more years to go.

JERMAINE O'NEAL, Indiana Pacers

Q: Talk about the foul.

O’Neal: It’s unbelievable. Here it is, Michael’s last All-Star Game, and, I don’t know. If I was a writer, that would have been the perfect situation. First of all, the foul (the official) called was unbelievable. Even Kobe said he couldn’t believe (the official) called the foul. I’m selfish, because I’m a Michael Jordan fan. I can’t really drop many other scenarios that would have been better for this All-Star Game, and for Michael’s last All-Star Game.

Q: Talk about the intensity of the game by both teams in the fourth quarter and overtime.

O’Neal: We wanted to make sure it was a good game, not only for the fans. Obviously, Michael wanted us to play at a high level to try to end the weekend. The weekend was a great weekend. The slam dunk contest was very competitive. The three-point shootout was very competitive. Obviously, we wanted the All-Star Game, which is the key game and the key contest of the week, we wanted to go out and play it hard.


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