NBA All-Star Weekend is here. The action tips off on Friday night with the NBA Rising Stars Challenge from the Chase Center - the Golden State Warriors' home arena. Let's make some Rising Stars picks and predictions for the matchups before they get underway. First, let's review the format for the Rising Stars event this year.
It will be a mini-tournament of four teams with the winner earning a spot in the NBA All-Star Game bracket. The coaches are former Warriors players Mitch Richmond, Chris Mullin, Tim Hardaway and Jeremy Lin. Three of the Rising Stars teams are made up of 21 current NBA rookies and second-year players, who were drafted from a pool by the coaches last week. The fourth team consists of NBA G League players.
Team Chris Mullin and Team Tim Hardaway will face off in the first of the Rising Stars games. Then it's Team Mitch Richmond against Team Jeremy Lin (or Team G League) in the second matchup. The first team to 40 points will advance and play in the third and final game on Friday night.
Let's now break down which teams and rosters to bet on in this Rising Stars event. We'll make an outright winner prediction and a head-to-head pick for Friday's NBA Rising Stars. Note that all odds below are accurate as of this writing but always subject to change. Good luck.
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NBA All-Star Rising Stars Picks & Predictions
(NBA odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Rising Stars Outright Prediction
Rosters are very important when predicting which team will win the Rising Stars Challenge and advance to the NBA All-Star Game tournament. Every squad boasts up-and-coming talent, but one or two players on any team can be difference-makers. With that in mind, Team Mitch Richmond (Team M) appears to have a few edges.
First off, Team M includes five second-year NBA players, the most among the Rising Stars field. Rockets wing Amen Thompson leads the way, averaging 13.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game as a breakout player. He'll be paired up with twin brother Ausar Thompson, who has recently moved into a starting role for Detroit. Their familiarity with each other shouldn't be ignored in an All-Star format.
Wizards wing Bilal Coulibaly (12.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game) and Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (10.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game) are other notable second-year players for Team M. They provide size and versatile scoring while both being among the league's top sophomores.
Then there are the two rookies for Team M - Bub Carrington from Washington and Yves Missi from New Orleans. Carrington and Missi, respectively, lead all NBA rookies in minutes and rebounds per game this season. Carrington also gets to play with Coulibaly, his Wizards teammate. That's another layer of familiarity we have to consider.
Finally, Team M gets to face Team G League in its first matchup. You can argue that makes Mitch Richmond's squad almost a shoo-in to advance to the final. The G League roster has talented players but they are all mostly unproven at the NBA level. Plus, Team G League only has one big man in Leonard Miller. That should allow Team M to own the boards and the paint.
Overall, Team Mitch should win this Rising Stars event based on their roster on paper. Plus, we can't overlook the motivation Amen Thompson might play with - knowing a win gives him a chance to prove it on a bigger stage at the All-Star Game.
Pick: Team Mitch Outright Winner (+160)
Team Chris Mullin vs. Team Tim Hardaway Prediction
The first Rising Stars matchup on Friday night features Team Chris Mullin (Team C) vs. Team Tim Hardaway (Team T). It's a toss-up for who might emerge victorious with so much young talent on both sides. Team C is the slight favorite and there are a few reasons to back Mullin's squad.
On paper, Team C has the stronger roster in this matchup. Utah Jazz second-year guard Keyonte George is averaging 16.5 points and 5.9 assists per game, both top the entire Rising Stars NBA field. San Antonio's Stephon Castle is the current favorite for Rookie of the Year. Castle's 12.9 points per game this season is the highest of any rookie in the event.
Meanwhile, Team C features the Grizzlies' two promising rookies who are key contributors to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Center Zach Edey gives this team one of the best rim protectors and rebounders in action tonight, not to mention a size advantage in the paint. Jaylen Wells has emerged as a solid role player, averaging 11.2 points per game, despite being a second-round pick. Edey and Wells also bring along some cohesion with both being starters in Memphis.
As for Team T, it does have its fair share of playmakers in Gradey Dick and Jaime Jaquez Jr. Plus, Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher are promising rookies. Still, this team's overall talent isn't on par with Team C. It's worth noting that Team T's first pick, Cason Wallace, won't play in this game due to injury.
Pick: Team Chris Mullin Moneyline (-128)
