PHILADELPHIA - (KRT) - In at least one sense, Wednesday night's finale for Michael Jordan will have the feel of the NBA Finals. That would be in the number of reporters covering the event.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the 76ers had issued nearly 200 press credentials for the contest with the Washington Wizards, a championship-caliber number.

While the game at the First Union Center is a sellout, the paid crowd figure is expected to fall short of the Sixers' season high of 21,127, established in December when the Lakers came to town.

That's a by-product of the big press turnout; some of the basketball media will be ensconced in the hockey press box - an area the Sixers normally sell when all the other seats have been sold.

With this surely being the last Jordan finale - there have been two others in years past - a number of celebrities will be on hand as well. Among those expected are Dean Smith, who coached Jordan at North Carolina, and two well-known basketball fans/film directors, Spike Lee and M. Night Shyamalan.

Sixers officials, while refusing to get into the details, say there will be "several in-game surprises" for Jordan plus appearances by "special Philadelphia-themed guests" throughout the evening.

When Jordan played his final home game in Washington on Monday night, the list of celebrities in attendance was topped by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Before the game, the secretary presented Jordan with an American flag that had flown over the Pentagon on the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The Washington farewell was soured somewhat by two factors beyond Jordan's control.

One was that the Wizards were beaten soundly by the New York Knicks, who, like the Wizards aren't going to the playoffs. The other was that news coverage of the evening was dominated by coach Doug Collins' post-game remarks about the "insidious" level of disrespect he receives from some Washington players.

National coverage will be provided by ESPN.