Kudos to NBA stars: Professional athletes are often labeled as selfish prima donnas who only look out for number one. However, let?s give credit where credit is due to a handful of NBA stars who are putting their money where their mouths are in more ways than one.

 As part of relief efforts aiding victims of last month?s tsunami disaster in Asia, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Jermaine O?Neal, Jalen Rose, Pau Gasol, Mike Miller and Bob Sura agreed to donate $1,000 to UNICEF for every point scored in a game played this week.  The NBA stars, who are all represented by player agent Arn Tellem and the SFX Group, are just a small sampling of athletes who have offered a helping hand to the over five million in need after the Dec. 26 tragedy.

 While the gesture was honorable in and of itself, more so were the contributions all seven players made, as they all delivered high-scoring efforts exceeding- except for the Lakers Bryant- their season scoring outputs.

 Sura, who is averaging just 8.8 points on the year, scored 20 on Friday night in Houston?s 111-104 loss to the Lakers at the Staples Canter, while his teammate McGrady, averaging 24.0 points on the season, scored 26.  

 Miller and Gasol, averaging 12.0 and 19.2 respectively, chipped in with 16 and 20 points in Memphis? 84-76 win Friday over the lowly 2-29 New Orleans Hornets.  

 Bryant, meanwhile, who entered Friday?s action second in league scoring at 28.5 points per game, finished with 27.

 The two biggest contributors were O?Neal and Rose, who both took their charitable efforts to a whole other level.

 O?Neal, who has been in the news this season for all the wrong reasons, scored 32 points Thursday night- over six points above his 25.7 season average- in a 111-98 loss in San Antonio, but decided instead to contribute $55,000 to the cause, matching the season-high 55 points he scored last Tuesday versus Milwaukee- an amount agent Tellem said he would match.  

 Rose, averaging 15.3 points on the year, scored 21 Friday versus the Bucks, but will donate $44,000, matching a career-best 44 points he scored versus Houston on March 16, 2002.

 While the final tally of $208,000 the players donated was just short of the $250,000 target set by Tellem, the chartable act prompted the Knicks? Stephon Marbury, Moochie Norris, Allan Houston, Nazr Mohammed and Vin Baker to follow suit, donating a total of $32,000 after the quintet combined for 32 points in Saturday?s 104-79 loss at Cleveland, while both the NBA and the NBA players? union made donations of $500,000 each.

 There will be critics who?ll say the league?s goodwill is nothing but a PR ploy on their part, but give the NBA credit for coming through in the clutch for a great cause.

 ?Air Chump?:  Shame on you for those- particularly in the Toronto media- who bashed Raptors GM Rob Babcock initially for what he received in return for Vince Carter in last month?s blockbuster deal with the New Jersey Nets.  

 On paper, no, Toronto did not receive equal value for Carter, but getting rid of ?half-man, half-amazing? was simply a case of addition by subtraction for the Raptors.  Always was and still is now, especially after Carter admitted he didn?t always play his hardest in an interview aired on TNT Thursday night.  

 ?I was fortunate to have the talent?you get spoiled when able to do a lot of things,? said Carter.  Yeah?like what, Vince?  Dunk?  Or being relegated to a mere perimeter jump shooter after you?ve been ravaged by injuries the last three-plus seasons?

 Carter says he?s hungry now that he?s received a fresh start in the swamps of New Jersey and is now ready to attack the basket with regularity- something he refused to do this season while in Raptor purple.  

 Well, don?t exert yourself too much, Vince.  We wouldn?t want you to rupture an Achilles or pull a quad muscle or something on a highlight-reel dunk because you tried to prove a point.  

 Simply put, Carter?s a chump and former teammate Rafer Alston said it best when he asked, ?is he(Carter) a guy that you can go to war with night in and night out?"  

 Carter may not miss Toronto, but believe me, neither the city nor his former teammates will miss Carter, either, that?s for sure.  

 How to play for a big free agent contract:  Washington Wizards guard Larry Hughes is finally living up to the expectations of being a lottery draft pick.

 Hughes, drafted 8th overall by Philadelphia in 1998, has shown flashes of brilliance in his six seasons in the league but has been unable to put it all together.  That is until this season, where the 25-year-old has quietly been a major reason why the 19-13 Wizards currently sit third in the Eastern Conference standings.

 The University of St. Louis product is only one of two players in the NBA this season (LeBron James) to be averaging at least 20 points and 2 steals a night and is the league leader in thefts with 2.74 per contest.  Hughes, along with teammates Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison, represent the only trio in the NBA on the same team to be averaging at least 20 points each.  

 With Hughes, a free agent to be, just about ready to enter his prime, look for him to receive some very lucrative offers this summer.

 How not to play for a big free agent contract:  Minnesota Timberwolves guard Latrell Sprewell has openly lobbied all season for a lucrative contract extension but has done little on the court to warrant big money.

 Yes, we all know Sprewell needs to feed his family, but if he wants the big payday this summer he?d be best to start producing and quit pouting, as the underachieving T-Wolves (17-15)- losers of nine of their last 13 games - are fighting for their playoff lives.

 In 29 games, Sprewell is averaging a career-low 11.6 points per game while both his rebounding and assists numbers are significantly down from a season ago, and looks as though he doesn?t even care when he?s out on the court- not typical of the high-energy 13-year veteran.

 Sprewell has lost more than a step this season, but why do I get the feeling some desperate team with cap money to spare this off-season will lock him up for big bucks, even at 34 years of age?