NBA All-Star Weekend: League announces player pool for Rising Stars tournament

The NBA’s Rising Stars tournament now has its official roster.

The league announced 28 players who earned spots in the Rising Stars tournament Tuesday afternoon at next month’s All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City. The group consists of 11 rookies, including four of the top five players selected in last year’s draft and 10 sophomores. Seven players from the G League will also compete.

Paolo Banchero, No. 1 overall and former Duke star, averages 20.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game with the Orlando Magic. Other top five picks Jabari Smith, Keegan Murray and Jaden Ivey were also named for the game. Chet Holmgren, who finished 2nd overall, was the only one in this group not to make it out of the game while recovering from a foot injury.

Scoot Henderson leads the group of G-League players who made the game. Henderson is widely expected to be the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft next summer, behind French star Victor Wembanyama. He currently plays with the G League Ignite, which has four players making the game. Scotty Pippen Jr., Mac McClung and Kenneth Lofton round out this group.

The Houston Rockets had the most players to make the game, with Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun joining Smith.

The Rising Stars event will feature a three-game mini-tournament in Salt Lake City next month. The 21 NBA players are drafted into three teams of seven, and the G-League players make up the fourth team. The teams are coached by Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and Deron Williams. Jason Terry will coach the G-League team.

The league announced the starters for the All-Star Game last week. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will captain the Western Conference in his record-breaking 19th pick for the game. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo will officiate the Eastern Conference.

All-Star Weekend kicks off on February 17th at Vivint Arena in Utah with the Rising Stars Tournament and a Celebrity Game. The HBCU Classic, Dunk Contest and Skills Challenge take place on Saturday and the All-Star Game takes place on Sunday.