Iguodala's All-Star moments

ORLANDO - It appeared as if the only thing that accompanied 76ers swingman Andre Iguodala at every moment this All-Star weekend was a smile. The eighth-year player seemed genuinely flattered, humbled, excited and nervous. It certainly was a different side to the player Sixers fans have been watching during his career.

Some Iguodala moments:

* He was the first player on the court last night before the game. Iguodala appeared on the Amway Center floor about an hour-and-a-half before the tipoff, maybe to get rid of some of the nervous energy that had no doubt built up.

* He was the third No. 9 to enter to game for the Eastern Conference, following Chicago's Luol Deng and Boston's Rajon Rondo. Iguodala entered for the first time to start the second quarter and got a nice alley-oop dunk on a pass from Rondo less than a minute in.

* When asked about some of the stars he had met this weekend, Iguodala told a story about legendary Celtic Bill Russell.

"I ran into him a couple of times with Allen [Iverson]. He always had the greats around him. They didn't know who I was back then. I remember seeing Bill Russell and I shook his hand and he looked at me like, 'Who is this guy?' like I was a fan or something. It's good that he sees me in a different light now. I didn't realize that he was taller than Dwight [Howard]. He's pretty tall.

"I talked with [former San Antonio Spur] David Robinson; he was telling about how he's been watching our team play. It's crazy. I watched them as a kid and for them to be watching me . . . I don't have words for it."

* When a media member asked Iguodala what super power he could possess, he picked two: the ability to fly and be invisible.

* Asked about his thoughts on New York guard Jeremy Lin, Iguodala pretended not to know who he was. When the questioner repeated, Iguodala gave an opinion.

"He's played really well the last 11 games, but people are going to be gunning after him. That will be good for him, to get guys' best. He was thrown in the fire right away so, hopefully, it isn't just a fluke and continued success for him."

* Iguodala was also presented some trivia questions by a reporter. Most centered around players from previous All-Star Games, but some were unrelated to basketball, like when he was asked to finish the lyrics to "When You Wish Upon a Star" and what Hakuna Matata meant. Those, of course, were references to Disney Movies. We are in Orlando, after all. (Hakuna Matata means no worries, by the way. Think "Lion King.")

* It was brought to Iguodala's attention that his name is usually brought up around this time of year not for an All-Star appearance but because of trade rumors. He was asked if he thought those rumors would be silenced now that he's an All-Star.

"I try not to think about it," he said. "But with the last couple of games [five straight losses], you never know. Next week, we might be back at it again."

Orlando was bustling with business all weekend with the All-Star Game downtown and NASCAR's Daytona 500 less than 50 miles away.

It made for terrible traffic on the I-4, though it was interesting watching fans of the NBA and NASCAR mingling.

In Saturday's gathering with the media, Orlando's Dwight Howard was asked who was bigger, he or driver Danica Patrick.

"She's pretty big, but I'm definitely taller," he answered.

The top three teams in the Atlantic Division - the Sixers, New York and Boston - have combined to lose their last 11 games.

In a video shown at the Amway Center, New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams is told there are 12 players with the last name of Williams in the league. After naming about eight, Williams names tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams, among others.

One player he didn't name was Sixers guard Lou Williams.

After setting a world record on Friday for making 14 shots from behind the basket in 1 minute, Sixers swingman Evan Turner knew the jokes would start flying. He started it off, saying. "I might [have to make that part of his offense]. If that's one of the ways to get a shot up . . . They're scarce around our parts."

The general consensus with most, from media to players to fans, was that the dunk contest during Saturday night's festivities was horrible and needs to be improved. Part of the reason is because the bigger stars in the league don't participate (Saturday's winner was Utah's Jeremy Evans). Another is the time it takes to complete it. Players get 2 minutes to complete their dunks. Why? Two chances is what they should have. That's it. And bring back the judging instead of the voting by the fans. That was way more fun, too.

The shooting stars, skills and three-point shooting contests are terrific and loved by the fans. They are fast-moving, have a definitive winner and have (for the most part) the best players competing.