NEW YORK — First, Dwyane Wade blocked shots from elementary school kids. Then Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul swatted away questions about their NBA futures.
The three NBA stars were at Harlem’s famed Rucker Park on Friday for a basketball clinic put on by Michael Jordan’s shoe company.
His Airness himself showed up too, stressing the importance of extra effort.
Wade is set with the Heat, united with LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Anthony can become a free agent next year and Paul the year after, but questions from reporters about their plans met the same fate as so many shots at Rucker Park — rejected!
The basketball playground is home to some of the game’s most flamboyant moves and over the years has featured the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Connie Hawkins, Julius Erving, Earl Monroe and Nate Archibald.
“This is an experience — to be here,” Wade said. “And I hope that I can come back someday to watch some basketball.”
Added Anthony: “I played at Rucker once and it was probably one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever been a part of. … You got the crowd. Everybody knows how good the crowd is out here.”
When asked about a possible contract extension with the Nuggets, Anthony joked that he just signed a deal to play at Rucker for three years, then steered the subject back to the kids who went through 10 weeks of morning training.
