About 40 Penn students joined thousands of NBA fans for the NBA All Star Jam Session at the Philadelphia Convention Center last night.
Discount tickets had been made available by the Junior Class Board.
Enduring slow-moving lines and metal detectors outside, close to 10,000 people streamed into the Convention Center to take part in the event that featured shoot outs, Hall of Fame exhibits, autograph signings and basketball activities ranging from dunk contests to "bungee basketball shooting."
All the events are leading up to this year's NBA All Star Game which will take place at the First Union Center this Sunday.
Tickets to the event were available this week on Locust Walk at a $5 discount and also free of the normal Ticketmaster surcharge, according to Junior Class Board Vice President Marissa Savit.
Junior Class Board Vice President of Corporate Sponsorship Ankit Shah said the board wanted to "facilitate student participation" in the event and that "it was all about having fun, having a good time."
Students were not only having fun in the stands, but also on stage. Members of Penn's Greek step teams performed alongside musical acts City High, Fat Joe, De La Sol, Lathun and No Secrets.
In addition to musical performances, fans were also able to attend a live taping of NBA Inside Stuff, featuring Ahmad Rashad, Summer Sanders and Joumana Kidd.
And if fans were not satisfied watching celebrities talk basketball, there were many opportunities to play themselves. Activities ranged from slam dunk contests on low-level rims to trampoline jump shot contests to slingshot basketball shooting.
For those attendees who were more passionate about basketball, there were also trivia contests and trading card swapping sessions.
The Jam Session also featured the Wheelchair National Basketball Association All-Star Game. Playing 20-minute halves, players selected to the East and West Coast all star teams from the league's 16 teams competed, according to one player, who wished to be identified by his court name, Big Cheeze.
Following the game was the NBA Legends Shoot out, where David Thompson, Randy Smith, George "Iceman" Gervin and Jo Jo White competed against each other, trying to score the highest number of points in 60 seconds.
Facing each other for the first time in more than a decade, Thompson and Gervin competed in the final round, which Thompson won narrowly.
"It's been a long time," Thompson said. "I knew I had to win."
In addition to predicting his own victory, when asked who would win the Ivy League Basketball Championship this year, Thompson responded, "Penn, of course."
Last night's event precedes a similar one tonight from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., leading up to the NBA All Star Game, which takes place Sunday night.
