Scottie Barnes to compete in 2023 Rising Stars Challenge

Scottie Barnes has been named as a participant in the Rising Stars Challenge at NBA All-Star Weekend.

Barnes, the reigning Rookie of the Year, is a no-brainer choice to join the sophomore roster. He’s had an up-and-down season, but seems to have turned things around in January; in 16 games he averaged 18.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists, while shooting 51% from the field.

Barnes will be joined by nine other sophomores, 11 rookies, and 7 G League players. The full player pool is listed below.

Amongst the rookies and G Leaguers are three Canadians: Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin of the Indiana Pacers, and Leonard Miller from the G League Ignite team. Nembhard has started 34 games, and is averaging 8.5 points and 4 assists; Mathurin has been a revelation of the Pacers bench, averaging 17.9 points and 4.2 rebounds a night. Miller, a 6’10” forward, is averaging 15 points (on 55% shooting) and 8.4 boards for the Ignite.

Because everyone asked for this meaningless exhibition to be as complicated as possible, the 21 NBA players will be divided up into three 7-player teams; the 7 G Leaguers will be play as one team. The four teams will then compete in a “mini-tournament” to determine the winner. The four teams will be coached by Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, Deron Williams, and Jason Terry.

The event takes place on Friday, February 17, right after the NBA Celebrity All-Star game, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

NBA Rising Stars participants:

Sophomores:

• Jose Alvarado, New Orleans Pelicans
• Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors
• Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder
• Jalen Green, Houston Rockets
• Quentin Grimes, New York Knicks
• Bones Hyland, Denver Nuggets
• Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans
• Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
• Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic

Rookies:

• Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
• Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons
• AJ Griffin, Atlanta Hawks
• Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons
• Walker Kessler, Utah Jazz
• Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers
• Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings
• Andrew Nembhard, Indiana Pacers
• Jabari Smith Jr., Houston Rockets
• Jeremy Sochan, San Antonio Spurs
• Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder

G League:

• Sidy Cissoko, G League Ignite
• Scoot Henderson, G League Ignite
• Mojave King, G League Ignite
• Kenneth Lofton Jr., Memphis Hustle
• Mac McClung, Deleware Blue Coats
• Leonard Miller, G League Ignite
• Scotty Pippen Jr., South Bay Lakers