These names shouldn't be foreign to you.(NBA)

Andris Biedrins is only 17, and in many ways, it's obvious. He's sitting with his older brother, 21-year-old Uldis, at a hotel in Los Angeles during All-Star weekend in February, talking about his experiences playing professionally for Skonto Riga in his native Latvia. When it comes to Andris' success against older, tougher veterans, Uldis pipes in to take some credit: "I have been beating him up for years," Uldis says. "He's used to it."

As for taking in the Los Angeles scene, especially during the weekend-long debauchery that accompanies All-Star festivities, Andris also was prepared for the kind of night life attendant with being a promising hoopster. That is, ...