Article & Pics by Ali Kohzad

The show that was once titled “Midsummer Magic” is now called LA Stars.  A basketball event directed to benefit young kids and several charities.  About two years ago, Earvin “Magic” Johnson turned over the charity event to two of California’s own, Baron Davis and Paul Pierce.  Usually held at the home of the Lakers’, this summer event in the past has brought out some of the biggest names in NBA, Hip-Hop, Hollywood and pop culture.  Kobe Bryand and Tracy Mcgrady once headlined the event.  This year, the event was held at USC’s Galon Center.  Although many stars showed up, no mega stars were spotted at the event.  Hall of famer, Jason Kidd was probably the biggest name there, except for Magic, who, by the way, did not participate in the game this year.  The celebrity game was played first.  Baron Davis has his team in blue and Paul Pierce coached the white team. 

Some of the celeb stars were: Snoop Dogg, Donald Faizon (of scrubs), Flex, Ray-J (who goes everywhere…but no sex tapes at this event) Bill Bellamy, and some others.  Some celebs in the crowd were: Musiq SoulChild, Angie Stone, Magic Johnson, DeRey (wild-n-out), Nick Cannon (of course) and some others.  I spoke with Jermaine O’Neil and he seemed excited about the Laker talk.  His exact words were “We’re trying to work it out right now, hopefully soon”  Agent Zero aka Gilbert Arenas was supposed to be part of the event but pulled a no-show.  Many NBA big names were missing due to the USA Team currently practiving in Las Vegas.  At the end of the game, many stars gave away their shoes and jerseys to young kids and Snoop Dogg was burried in fans.  Overall, it was a great event for a great cause.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 at 11:00 am and is filed under Concerts/Events, Exclusives, Pictures.