Steve Smith (Basketball)

With more and more top teams barnstorming the nation to play in packed arenas for national television audiences, high school hoops has gotten bigger than ever. It's time to think about what it all means

This club is still stinging from a nasty playoff sweep by the Lakers. Will that make the Spurs better, or worse?

Led by talented but hot-tempered Rasheed Wallace, the volatile Trail Blazers could win it all—or blow up trying

Portland newcomers Scottie Pippen, Detlef Schrempf and Steve Smith have played in 11 All-Star Games among them. No member of the 1998-99 Trail Blazers had ever made an All-Star appearance.

A late arrival—forward LaPhonso Ellis—gives coach Lenny Wilkens the player he sorely needed