Where Are They Now? The Stars of the 1998 NBA All-Star Game in New York City

Image via Complex Original

Richmond is one of five players on this list to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. A year ago we couldn’t say that, but Mitch entered the hallowed halls last August. This year he joined Comcast SportsNet California as a pre and postgame analyst for the Kings. He also founded M-Rock Life, a charity intended to stop bullying. He’s selling his Los Angeles home for $8.495 million. It includes way more bedrooms and bathrooms than you’ll ever need, as well as total unnecessary amenities including: a steam room, sauna, beauty salon, and a “child’s homework room” (whatever that means). While $8.495 million might sound steep, it’s down a million bucks from where it was last year, so you really can’t afford not to buy it. It also comes with the added bonus of living in the same neighborhood as Justin Bieber, which may or may not lead to a few more million being scratched off in the future.

“The Glove” has gone into analyzing the game, choosing to do so on Fox Sports 1, meaning nobody actually sees him analyze, but still, he does it. He’s also worked hard on returning an NBA team to Seattle, even giving the acceptance speech for the Webby Award won by the documentary Sonicsgate, saying concisely, "Bring back our Seattle SuperSonics."

Vin Baker’s four consecutive All-Star appearances ended with the 1998 game. But in 2011, he became an assistant coach at a high school in Connecticut. He also was one of the ballers Dennis Rodman chose to cross the Pacific to North Korea and play in an exhibition for Kim Jong-un’s birthday.

When the game went down in ’98, Kobe was the youngest player, not only on the floor, but in the history of the All-Star Game. He was at the beginning of a career that would be defined by playoff contenders and constant contention for NBA titles. What a difference 17 years make. Now he’s rehabbing a torn rotator cuff for a struggling Lakers franchise, in an injury-plagued end to his career. With that being said, he’s scored the third-most points in NBA history and is now generally regarded as one of the greatest players to ever suit up. Even the biggest Bryant fans in ’98—and there were a lot of them, considering he was voted as a starter in the game despite coming off the bench for the Lakers—couldn’t have foreseen that he’d one day become arguably the greatest scorer in league history.

Admittedly, there’s not a lot of info on what Eddie Jones has been up to since retirement in 2008. But since hanging it up, he’s lived the life of a family man, participating in golf outings, helping charities, and going to church. Not real exciting, but it seems to be working for him.

No doubt, for a few players on this list, 1998 marked the peak of their lives. Penny Hardaway is one of those guys, as ’98 marked his last career All-Star Game at the age of 26. Penny has dabbled in the same post-career ventures as many former players. He has a turf business in the last city he played in, Miami. He also owns a barbershop in his hometown, Memphis. Not only does he currently reside in the Tennessee city where he grew up, but he also actively promotes the local sports scene. He brought back the Bluff City Classic, a summer league for the top basketball players (men and women) in the area. He helped fund the University of Memphis’s Sports Hall of Fame. He started coaching middle school basketball at Lester Middle School (his alma mater) after their coach (and Penny’s friend) was diagnosed with cancer. On top of all that, he joined a group—alongside Justin Timberlake and Peyton Manning—that bought a minority stake in the Grizzlies.

The second of the two Hardaways on this list, Tim actively roots for the Knicks (whom his son plays for) unless they’re butting heads with the Pistons (for whom he’s currently an assistant coach). You may notice that he’s actually participating in All-Star Weekend this year. The former point guard has finally gone all-in on the coaching profession.

The game in 1998 was the only All-Star appearance that Smits ever made, and soon afterward he began to feel the effects of both aging and being 7-4. Nerve damage that was caused from wearing tight sneakers as a teen began to manifest and, in a couple of years, he was retired. It took four surgeries to finally get that nerve damage under control, and then his focus turned to fixing his back, legs, and ankles. Nowadays, he collects and competitively races old-school motocross bikes. In 2008, he won the AHRMA Vintage National Premier 500 Intermediate Class. Still, even if you don’t know what that is, a class with that many words must be prestigious.

Reggie Miller was a very entertaining personality as a player, bickering with fans (often named Spike Lee) and annoying the MSG crowd so much that he got a 30 for 30 centered around it. As a commentator, he’s continued to do that, albeit in a less confrontational way. Miller’s one of the few guys on this list who you probably don’t need an update on. Just watch TNT.

Somewhere along the way, a love for fighting awakened in Rice, who took up a Miami-based business called G-Force Fights, which does promotion for MMA.

Steve Smith stayed within basketball, opting to announce instead of coach to stick around his family. Not only has he been featured prominently on the Big Ten Network, he also returned to Atlanta—the franchise he made his only All-Star appearance with—to lend his expertise to Hawks broadcasts. His replacement on the broadcasts was a more prominent Atlanta legend, Dominique Wilkins. But that doesn’t keep him from collecting a paycheck for his work in the studio.

One of the last men on this list to still be active, Kidd transitioned from player to coach in 2013, signing on with the Brooklyn Nets, whom he took to two Finals as a point guard. Not only did Kidd lead the team as their coach, he also bought a minority stake in the team from Jay Z. Kidd garnered a couple accolades, racking up two Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honors. After getting bounced by the Heat in five games during the second round of the playoffs, Kidd fled Brooklyn, settling in Milwaukee. That’s where Kidd currently resides since being traded for two draft picks to take over as coach of the Bucks, a team that will soon double its win total from last season.

David Robinson seems to be one of the few guys on this list to actually retire from basketball. “The Admiral” chose to go the route of a businessman/philanthropist. A couple years ago he finished getting his Masters degree in Administration from the University of the Incarnate Word. During the twilight years of his playing days, Robinson founded an inner-city school in San Antonio (Carver Academy). A couple of years ago the Academy became a charter school. Seeking to create additional funding for the institution, Robinson co-founded The Admiral Capital Group, which has a $100-plus million portfolio and includes hotels, office buildings, and The Academy Sports + Outdoors chain for the avid outdoorsman.

One of Robinson’s three sons (Corey) is a wide receiver for Notre Dame, who you may know as the guy who lost his game-winning touchdown at Florida State on an offensive pass interference penalty. Corey’s scholarship from the Fighting Irish represents a bonus for David as he told his kids he’d pay for their college but that they won’t receive an inheritance. Chalk that tough love up to his naval background.

The MVP of the ’98 game never really left the public eye, whether it’s sitting courtside at Charlotte Hornets games or violently ripping out sentient tags in Hanes ads. He still owns the Charlotte Hornets. In fact, he’s pretty much the reason they’re back to being called the Hornets. Because of him your vintage Starter jackets are no longer priceless artifacts, but they once again make sense. He also married a supermodel and had twin daughters with her. In case you’re wondering, Jordan is a few days away from turning 52, and he also became the first former player to become a billionaire. You can attribute that to either his 89.5 percent stake in the Hornets (maybe) or the massive fortune that he’s built off his shoe empire (probably). Either way, it’s a pretty big trust fund for those twins.