DALLAS -- David Lee perked up when he heard Kevin Garnett and Carmelo Anthony made their first All-Star appearances as injury replacements.

He wasn't told Antonio Davis and Chris Gatling also made their first All-Star appearances in that manner. Shall we also say last All-Star appearances?

It remains to be seen how the career of the New York big man will go, but Lee sure was thrilled when Knicks executive Donnie Walsh woke him up Thursday afternoon with news he had been named an East All-Star injury replacement for Sunday's game at Cowboys Stadium due to Philadelphia's Allen Iverson bowing out because of the illness of his 3-year-old daughter.

"I was taking a nap and wasn't expected to be here,'' Lee said. "I got a call from (Walsh) that I had been selected. I didn't believe him at first. I thought it was a dream. I woke up and he said the car service would be (at his New York residence) in 20 minutes, and I was on the plane an hour later. ... The NBA had a charter (from Newark, N.J.). I was lucky enough to get on that.''

So Lee made the mad dash to Dallas. And so did Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd, who had already left snowy Dallas. Kidd was on a golf course Thursday in sunny Phoenix when he heard he was to replace injured Lakers guard Kobe Bryant on the West, and he made it back to town Friday.

At least the two other All-Star replacements in Sunday's game, both joining Kidd on the West, got much more notice. Denver guard Chauncey Billups got word Feb. 3 he would replace New Orleans' Chris Paul and Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman was tabbed last Monday to fill in for Portland's Brandon Roy.

Billups had to cancel a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with his wife. Kaman bowed out of an excursion with his girlfriend to Lake Tahoe. And Lee dropped out of a buddy's wedding in Houston.



But, if any of these guys end up being another Tom Chambers, it will be well worth it.

Chambers is the All-Star replacement story by which all are measured. Playing for the SuperSonics with the 1987 game in Seattle, Chambers had been named to replace Houston's Ralph Sampson, a starting forward.

With the game being at the cavernous Kingdome before 34,275 fans, West coach Pat Riley figured it couldn't hurt to start Chambers and get the crowd buzzing. All Chambers did was score a game-high 34 points in the West's 154-149 win and be named Most Valuable Player.

"It was a Cinderella story," said Chambers, who played in three other All-Star games. "No question about it; it was the top moment of my career. I'm asked about that All-Star Game all the time. ... It was shocking to me when (Riley) told me I was starting.''



West coach George Karl of Denver could have pulled a Riley and started Kidd due to the game being played in the Dallas area. But the Mavericks have another star on the team in Dirk Nowitzki, and he will replace Bryant in the starting lineup.

But Kidd knows about the legend of Chambers. He recently was talking to former NBA player Eddie Johnson, who would later be Chambers' teammate in Phoenix.

"Eddie Johnson told me it's always the guy that gets in last that wins the MVP,'' Kidd said. "I told him, 'Don't put that type of pressure on me.'''

That's not exactly right since Chambers is the only injury replacement to have hoisted a trophy. But Kidd, named to his 10th All-Star Game, didn't rule out a storybook night, although he said his performance "would have to be really special'' and he's actually pulling for Nowitzki to be named MVP.

It remains to be seen how much Karl will play Kidd. As for Billups, Karl said he will be used plenty.

"I think he has a great chance of having a great game because I'm going to play him a lot,'' Karl said of his own guy.

Billups, Kaman, Kidd and Lee all said they don't get the feeling their selections have any kind of asterisk because they weren't voted in by the fans or selected as reserves by the coaches. Instead, they were selected by NBA commissioner David Stern.

Anthony, though, does admit he felt a bit different at first when he got his initial All-Star nod in 2007 as an injury replacement.

"I'm pretty sure at first it was like, 'Ah, you know, injury replacement,''' said the Denver forward. "But at least you got acknowledged. At least you have experience. ... I made the best out of that situation. ... Nobody is going to say, "Oh, Melo's first game he was an injury replacement in the All-Star Game.' 'There's no such thing as a half All-Star Game.''

Anthony has since added two more All-Star Games to his resume, both as a starter. But he can be thankful Stern holds no grudges for getting into his first one.

Anthony had been suspended for 15 games earlier that season due to his role in a brawl. That was the primary reason coaches passed him as a reserve despite Anthony at the time leading the NBA in scoring.

Stern had shown he has a short memory. He named New York's Latrell Sprewell an injury replacement in 2001, three years after Sprewell, then with Golden State, had been suspended for the final four months of the season after choking Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo.

Then there was center Dikembe Mutombo, the only player who has twice been named an injury replacement since the NBA has been keeping records since 1990. He had an impressive showing as a replacement when he ripped down 22 rebounds for Atlanta in 2001, but more interesting was his 1995 tabbing as a replacement while with Denver.

After being passed over as a reserve by West coaches, Mutombo told the NBA to "go to hell.'' Later, in a game against the Lakers, Mutombo inadvertently struck Cedric Ceballos, tearing a ligament in Ceballos' right thumb.

Stern then named Mutombo to replace the man he hurt. A Denver newspaper columnist jokingly likened the move to the Tonya Harding situation before the 1994 Olympics, and Stern got in some jokes himself.

"First, he sends me to Africa, then he sends me to hell," Stern said during 1995 All-Star Weekend about having accompanied Mutombo and other NBA players on a 1994 journey to South Africa.

Stern has been rather busy in recent weeks, having named four replacements. But that's not the record.

In 2007, five replacements, including Anthony, were tabbed. In 1997, when Garnett was named, five also got the nod.

"When you're named to an All-Star, they don't say, 'By default,''' said Garnett, who was then with Minnesota and now with Boston, and been selected to 13 All-Star teams. "They don't say you replaced somebody. I look at my All-Star (appearances) and go down that list. It's not going to say, 'Reserve' or whatever. It's going to say, 'All-Star.'''

Another future Hall of Famer who made his first All-Star appearance as an injury replacement was Gary Payton. He made it with the SuperSonics in 1994 when they were coached by Karl, also then the West coach.

Payton didn't have the kind of game Chambers had for Seattle seven years earlier. But he did total six points and nine assists in 17 minutes.

For the highest-scoring All-Star showing as a replacement since Chambers, it belongs to Anthony. He had 20 points in the West's 153-132 win in Las Vegas, but teammate Bryant took home MVP honors.

Kidd and Billups were both named to that game as reserves although Kidd had to drop out due to injury. Of course, All-Star Games are now old hat for Kidd and Billups, showing up for a fifth time.

But Kaman and Lee both will make their first All-Star appearances as injury replacements. So, if it feels any different, they don't have anything for comparison.

"I'm just excited to be here. It doesn't change anything,'' Kaman said of how he got to Dallas.

"At the end of the day, you're still an All-Star,'' said Lee, a fifth-year man.

But come back in another decade to see if Kaman and Lee have careers that end up being more similar to those enjoyed by Garnett or Anthony or closer to those had by Davis and Gatling.

Source: Chris Tomasson, FanHouse