NBA All-Star Rising Stars Tournament Odds, Prediction

The NBA is a star-driven league, there’s no doubt about that. It is often argued that the most popular and prominent players, in some ways, wield more power than coaches and franchise owners. LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Stephen Curry are but some of the names who sell tickets and merchandise and have fans coming back for more.

Under those circumstances, it can be easy to overlook the younger, lesser-known players who are still working to put their own stamp on the league and their careers. As such, the Rising Stars tournament comes in handy as a showcase of tomorrow’s potential icons.

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How Do They Rise?

In a fairly simple but no less entertaining concept, the mini tournament features four teams all selected by former NBA players. Three ad hoc clubs are formed by players current on NBA rosters, whereas a fourth is made up of young bucks earning their spurs in the G League. Only three games are played, with the winners of the first two contesting the final.

Unlike in a typical basketball game in which a timer runs down to 00:00, in a Rising Star tilt a target score of 40 must be attained to win the semi-final game. A target of 25 must be attained to claim victory in the big final.

 Who is Rising?

 The four clubs are:

 Team Pau (Pau Gasol):

Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic

Bennedict Mathurin of the Indiana Pacers

Jaden Ivey of the Detroit Pistons

Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors

Jose Alvarado of the New Orleans Pelicans

Keegan Murray of the Sacramento Kings

Andrew Nembhard of the Indiana Pacers

Team Deron (Deron Williams):

Franz Wagner of the Orland Magic

Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets

Trey Murphy III of the New Orleans Pelicans

AJ Griffin of the Atlanta Hawks

Bones Hyland of the Los Angeles Clippers

Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz

Ayo Dosunmo of the Chicago Bulls

Team Joakim (Joakim Noah):

Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers

Josh Giddey of the Oklahoma City Thunder

Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder

Jeremy Sochan of the San Antonio Spurs

Quentin Grimes of the New York Knicks

Jabari Smith Jr. of the Houston Rockets

Tari Eason of the Houston Rockets

Team Jason (Jason Terry, G League team):

Sidy Cissiko

Scoot Henderson

Mojave King

Kenneth Lofton Jr.

Mac McClung

Leonard Miller

Scotty Pippen Jr.

Last Risers Standing

Obviously, it’s very tempting to put Team Jason’s ensemble in last place, if only because it’s a roster with none or very little true NBA experience. Then again, a lot of players get called up (Mac McClung is also competing the Slam Dunk competition).

The other three units all look quite strong. Team Pau is gifted with a lot of young players whose names are on many lips these days. Bennedict Mathurin, Canadian connection aside, has got a lot of people talking about him. Paolo Banchero is having a breakout season in Orlando and has helped that team attain a level of respectability. Who can forget that Scottie Barnes is the most recent recipient of Rookie of the Year honours? Pau’s squad is definitely the most attractive and hype-worthy.

Team Deron has some nice balance between slick, playmaking guys and those with significant height advantages. Atlanta is pleased with how the acquisition of AJ Griffin has turned out, and Orlando has seen good things from Franz Wagner. Trey Murphy III can add a lot of pop to the squad, especially since he’s partaking in the Slam Dunk contest too.

Team Joachim has a beast of a player in Evan Mobley, one of the key ingredients to the Cavaliers’ brilliant season so far. Josh Giddey has put in very nice figures in OKC and come up huge in big games, such as in L.A. a few weeks ago on the night LeBron broke Kareem’s record.

Prediction: Team Pau, just because he’s selected the most “established” and accomplished of the bunch.