James, Tatum and company dazzle crowd

James was joined by Jayson Tatum and Dejounte Murray, as well as the top two picks in this year’s draft (Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren, although Holmgren left early in the game with an apparent ankle injury). Also Isaiah Thomas and Aaron Gordon.

With free attendance limited to less than 3,000, fans began camping out overnight Friday to secure their place in line. Thousands were locked out after the gym reached maximum capacity.

Among those in attendance were Hall of Fame player and coach Lenny Wilkens, Los Angeles Clippers president Steve Ballmer, several former Seattle Seahawks (Cliff Avril, Marcus Trufant and K.J. Wright) and members of the Seattle Storm and Washington Mystics, who worked out elsewhere in the building Saturday before Game 2 of their WNBA playoff series on Sunday.

The crowd erupted when James entered the gym shortly before 6:00 p.m.

The event was briefly delayed after a crowd of spectators surrounded James on the court, and Crawford took the microphone to plead with fans to restore order and the Seattle Police Department warned that the entire event could be canceled.

Shortly after the game began, condensation became a problem. On an unusually humid day for Seattle in the summer, the combination of the capacity and the heat caused damp spots on the field.

The game was suspended midway through the second quarter with 5:47 left.

“You don’t get a day like that often, but my job is to protect everyone’s safety,” Crawford explained. “On the court, I couldn’t risk those guys getting hurt. It’s not worth it. It’s supposed to inspire and give hope, and they did. The job got done.”

While fans didn’t enjoy a complete game, the Stars included plenty of highlights in a quarter and a half. Tatum was the highlight of the day, hitting a series of long three-pointers early in the game, scoring some of them with his trademark kiss thrown into the crowd.

Playing together, Tatum and James teamed up for the highlight of the day. When Crawford took the microphone again to announce the end of the game, he thanked the visiting stars for their participation.

“Obviously, everybody didn’t get in and everybody probably could never get in,” he said afterward. “We tried to do the best we could. We tried to deliver an experience we’ve never had before. I think, overall, it was great, because I think those are moments and memories the kids will never forget.”