Today in sports history

On this date five years ago, Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas played in his first NBA All-Star Game. Z played just four minutes, despite the fact that the game went into double-overtime. He didn't score, but had one assist and one steal.

The Cavaliers were one of the NBA's worst teams in '02-03, finishing 17-65, which tied for the worst record in the NBA. But it wasn't Z's fault; he had a fine season, average 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds. And help was on the way; that awful record got them more ping-pong balls in the upcoming NBA lottery, which got them the first pick in the 2003 draft. They used that pick on a 6-foot-8 high school phenom from Northeast Ohio, and I won't tell you his name, but he's currently the NBA's scoring leader.