Welcome to All-Star Weekend, one of the premier events on the NBA's regular-season calendar and a chance for the league to showcase its best and brightest. The superstars will have their moment in the spotlight over the weekend, but Friday belongs to the league's best up-and-comers.
As usual, the first event of All-Star Weekend to feature active NBA players will be the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night. After cycling through a number of formats, the league has settled on a four-team mini tournament featuring 21 of the best rookies and sophomores in the NBA, along with seven promising G-Leaguers. So, how can you tune into the event? And what exactly are the rules? Here's everything you need to know for the Rising Stars challenge.
How to watch: Rising Stars Game
Date: Friday, Feb. 16 | Time: 9 p.m. ET
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse -- Indianapolis, Indiana
TV and live stream: TNT, TNT Overtime on NBA App, NBA.com
Rosters
Three of our four rosters were drafted by honorary coaches Pau Gasol, Jalen Rose, and Tamika Catchings, and unsurprisingly, the No. 1 overall pick in that draft was Victor Wembanyama. The entire player pool was chosen through the balloting of each NBA coaching staff. The fourth team in the picture here will be led by Detlef Schrempf and is composed of G-Leaguers. Below are the full rosters for Friday's festivities.
Team Pau: Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, Brandin Podziemski, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Jabari Smith Jr., Cason Wallace, Bilal Coulibaly.
Team Tamika: Paolo Banchero, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Keegan Murray, Scoot Henderson, Keyonte George, Vince Williams Jr. (injury replacement for Dyson Daniels).
Team Jalen: Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Bennedict Mathurin, Dereck Lively II, Jordan Hawkins, Walker Kessler, Jeremy Sochan (injury replacement for Shaedon Sharpe).
Team Detlef: Izan Almansa, Matas Buzelis, Mac McClung, Tyler Smith, Oscar Tshiebwe, Alondes Williams, Emoni Bates (injury replacement for Ron Holland).
Format
As has been the case for the past few years, the Rising Stars event will be a tournament between the four teams involved. Team Jalen will face Team Tamika in the first game. Team Detlef will face Team Pau in the second. The two winners will face off for the title in the third.
However, instead of using a clock, these games will be played with target scores. In the semifinals, the first team to 40 points wins. Then, for the championship game, the target score will be lowered to 25.
