ON SUNDAY evening, NBC is going to pull itself away from first round coverage of men’s singles’ luge and broadcast a real sport: the NBA All-Star game. Starting at shooting guard for the East will be a 6′ 6″ journeyman from North Carolina, Michael Jordan.

Before the season started, lots of people questioned whether Jordan would be any good. Jon Barry, the Detroit Pistons guard, boasted, “Nobody is going to have mercy on him, I don’t care if he’s 38 or 58. He’s had his feast on us. Maybe if things don’t work out, we can feast on him a little.” Shaquille O’Neal said laconically, “Hey, 39 ain’t 29, bro.” And Utah’s Bryon Russell–the guy who Jordan faked out of his sneakers for the winning shot in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals–told Sports Illustrated that if Jordan tries to uncork another game-winner on him, “I’ll block it.” (Not to brag, but I thought he was going to be pretty much his old self.)