Golfer Michelle Wie poses as she arrives at a party to celebrate the global release of the Air Jordan Area XX2 shoe during NBA All-Star weekend in Las Vegas on Friday. Wie, who is sponsored by Nike, wore a cast on the wrist she injured in a fall. Mark J. Terrill | Associated Press

They began to invade Las Vegas in earnest Thursday night, filling the cool desert air from the Fremont Street to the bottom of the Strip with an anticipatory buzz matched only by a title fight or New Year's Eve. Bars and clubs were packed, while lines for cabs stretched around corners — and the check-in lines at most hotels weren't much better.

This town soon was packed to its glitzy, lightbulb-festooned rafters for the NBA's ambitious, adventurous All-Star weekend and the accompanying four-day party that could be a landmark event in Las Vegas history — and a catalyst for many more years of pro basketball to come.

''This is the place to be, the party of the year,'' Washington All-Star Gilbert Arenas said. ''Wasn't no way I wanted to miss this one.''

Only a select few of these Vegas visitors actually have tickets for Saturday's skill events and Sunday's game. The rest will congregate outside and inside, in casinos and clubs, relishing this unprecedented collision of a fame-centric sport's most star-studded event in a fun-loving town like no other.

It's also the NBA's first attempt to hold the game outside one of its member cities. But if Mayor Oscar Goodman and a host of forward-thinking league officials have their way, this hot spot on the weather map could be even hotter with an NBA team as its first major-league sports franchise.

''I think it's a good match,'' said the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, though he's against a Vegas team because ''we get all their fans right now.

''Basketball is the greatest show in the world. Everybody loves watching, and what better place to have a great show than Las Vegas?''

Despite the injury dropouts of MVP Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson and Yao Ming, both rosters still are packed for the 56th edition of the game. Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James will start together for the Eastern Conference, while Bryant will line up with Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan for the West.

''I hope it's a blowout, so I won't be scrutinized for a last-minute decision one way or the other,'' East coach Eddie Jordan said. ''This is a fun weekend. I don't want to make a call that could change things. That's not the kind of gamble you want.''

But the real fun is just being here. Though most NBA stars are no strangers to the material comforts and diversions of Sin City, the All-Star weekend is a chance to show how grown up Las Vegas can be when hosting the showcase event for the sport it loves.

''I'm pretty sure it will happen here,'' said Suns forward Shawn Marion, the only former UNLV player in the game. ''This is a great area that a lot of our guys know already, and they should definitely have a team here.''

Basketball has been Las Vegas' favorite team sport since UNLV's run of national prominence under coach Jerry Tarkanian, bestowing hometown celebrity on a handful of gifted college players. The good times at the Thomas & Mack Center faded with scandal, but not before the Runnin' Rebels became the most celebrated guys in town who don't sing ''Danke Schoen'' — or imitate the guy who sang ''Viva Las Vegas.''

What's more, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke Wilt Chamberlain's career NBA scoring record here on April 5, 1984, thanks to a scheduling quirk in which the struggling Utah Jazz played a few games 420 miles down the I-15.

The crowd at Saturday's competitions and Sunday's game should create a two-day revival of Gucci Row — the glitzy, glamorous courtside collection of UNLV donors and Vegas high-rollers who once gathered to watch Tarkanian's Rebels.

The players should be mostly insulated from the party atmosphere by publicists, league handlers and reasonable bedtimes, but Las Vegas is hoping its show will convince any wary owners — and commissioner David Stern — that an NBA team makes perfect sense in a town with a burgeoning, basketball-mad population.

Jerry Colangelo, the managing director of USA Basketball, chose Las Vegas for his team's training camp last summer.

''I think it's sooner rather than later,'' Colangelo said. ''The market is ready, and whoever that first (sports) franchise is that comes in will have the opportunity to make a big impact on the market. The potential revenue would outdo what several of our current franchises are doing.''

The actual game might be the least telegenic aspect of the weekend, with the most unbelievable sights kept behind the closed doors of the numberless clubs and parties.

But the players hope to put on a show — and they began with the alley-oops, 3-pointers and generally defensive neglect of a 269-point combined performance in Friday's rookie challenge game between first- and second-year players.