The NBA season began this year with the death of legendary Los Angeles Lakers center Wilt Chamberlain.

"Wilt the Stilt", the only player to ever score 100 points in one game, died Tuesday, Oct.12 of an apparent heart attack in his Bel-Air home at the age of 63. He had been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat several years earlier. Standing 7-foot-1, Chamberlain was one of the most dominant centers in the game, who still holds many records that modern-day players have not come close to breaking. These records include most rebounds in a game (55), highest points-per-game season average (50.4) and total career rebounds (23,924).

Chamberlain wore #13 on both his Philadelphia and Los Angeles teams.

The following day, the 13th of October, the Lakers would play their first exhibition game of the season. Prior to tip-off, a moment of silence was observed for Chamberlain.

Kemper Arena in Kansas City, MO, hosted the 1999 Dodge NBA Classic exhibition featuring the Lakers and the Washington Wizards. Los Angeles's new star power included the likes of Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Glenn Rice. The Lakers new coach, Phil Jackson, formerly of the six-time championship Chicago Bulls, made his NBA debut with the Lakers in this game. On the other end of the court, the Washington Wizards, under first-year coach Gar Heard, were ready for the challenge of the dominant Los Angeles team.

The Lakers took an early lead and maintained it for most of the game. O'Neal scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in his 29 minutes. Bryant, a 6-7 guard who came into the league when he was 19 from Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania, scored 18 points in his 30 minutes. But something happened in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers entered the fourth quarter with a 17-point lead but were unable to convert in the last 10 minutes of the game. They remained scoreless with 14 turnovers and lost to the Wizards in a 88-84 upset. Rookie Laron Profit from Maryland led the Wizards to their victory with nine points in the fourth quarter. Wizards teammate Juwan Howard scored 17. The Laker bench looked grim in the last moments of the game.

Bryant injured his hand vying for a rebound, but continued to play. After the game, he met with the media and fans, answered questions and signed autographs, and appeared to be in good shape. However, on his return to Los Angeles the next day, it was discovered that he had broken the fourth metacarpal bone in his right hand. Bryant will be out for at least the first six weeks of the season.

Lucky for Los Angeles, they signed Ron Harper from the Chicago Bulls. Harper, a 35-year-old shooting guard who won three championships with Jackson in Chicago, signed a two-year $4.2 million contract with the Lakers. Coach Jackson said Harper would arrive with the club in a few days.

"I'm excited about having Ron on the team," said Jackson.

When asked about his use of the famous triangle offense in the game, Coach Jackson said it looked more like a "trapezoid". Jackson assured the media that there were "a lot of bugs to work out" on this team, but he remained confident.

Hometown hero Tyronn Lue was a favorite with the crowd. The famous "Lue" chant rang from the audience in appreciation of his success. Lue, a 6-foot guard for Los Angeles, is a native of Raytown, MO and played college basketball at Nebraska. Former Huskers teammates, who were in attendance, cheered for the second-year Laker, who had two assists.

The famous Laker girls also provided fans with an exciting show. They showed off new costumes and routines and ignited the crowd with their technical choreography. They also moved about the stadium and met with fans and children.

The exhibition was an exciting way to kick off the approaching season. Without a home team in the league since the Kings move to Sacramento, residents of the Kansas City area had a chance to see some of the more prolific players in the NBA. However, the evening was overshadowed by the loss of Chamberlain.

(Images soon..)