SALT LAKE CITY — We were well on our way to celebrating Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James as the biggest winner of the NBA's All-Star Game, until news broke he would not play in the second half.
The 38-year-old skipped the chaos that was media availability on All-Star Saturday, opting instead to spend a couple vacation days with his wife, and then he alone held a news conference prior to Sunday's game. If he was aiming to minimize his availability and maximize his visibility, he had executed his plan to perfection.