NBA Rising Stars is usually a fairly low-profile All-Star Event. It lacks the star power of the All-Star Game itself and the history of the Saturday slate of events, so Friday tends to be the least-watched night of the weekend. This year, however, the NBA managed to inject some stakes into the Rising Stars Challenge. With the All-Star game itself morphing into a tournament, the league needed a fourth team to compete with the three, pre-drafted teams of eight All-Stars apiece on Sunday.
This is where the Rising Stars come into play. Friday’s tournament served as a Play-In tournament of sorts for Sunday’s. The winner would receive the honor of playing alongside the NBA’s best players on Sunday, and now, we know that winner to be Team Chris Mullin (or Team C, as they have been named). Team Mullin won relatively comfortably in its first matchup against Team Tim Hardaway, but their opponent in the final was a bit of a surprise.
NBA Rising Stars results
- Game 1: Team C 40, Team T 34
- Game 2: Team G League 40, Team M 39
- Championship: Team C 25, Team G League 14
Team Jeremy Lin, comprised entirely of G Leaguers, played a back-and-forth contest against Team Mitch Richmond, the tournament favorite, that came down to the final possession. Trailing 39-37 with the ball, Lin called timeout, and the G Leaguers elected to play for the win. With a target score of 40, they decided to shoot a 3-pointer to avoid giving the ball back, and Bryce McGowens did just that with this game-winning triple.
The G Leaguers carried that momentum into the early portion of the championship bout. They were still warm after playing their semifinal matchup, as Team Mullin started slowly after sitting for the entirety of the second game. That allowed the G Leaguers to build a quick 12-8 lead, and with the target score set at just 25, Team Mullin didn’t have time to methodically get back up to speed. Once they came back from the first timeout of the game, though, they were all set. They closed the game on a 17-2 run led by tournament MVP Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs to secure the victory.
As Rising Stars champions, Team Mullin is now set to participate in Sunday’s festivities. That means Castle, Ryan Dunn, Zach Edey, Keyonte George, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Dalton Knecht and Jaylen Wells will get to see how they measure up against the best players in the world. The G Leaguers, meanwhile, may not have won the whole thing, but they held their own against some of the league’s brightest young prospects. A win would have been nice, but all seven team members managed to take advantage of this showcase opportunity.
