Over the last few seasons, young NBA talent has seemingly improved at astronomical rates. In their early 20s (and sometimes teens), players like Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson, Trae Young, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton and Ja Morant have already become All-Stars and, in some cases, the leaders of championship contenders.
The league's fresh crop young talent will be on display during All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, starting with the Jordan Rising Stars game on Friday night. The format has shifted over the years in order to make the game more competitive -- it had a tendency to devolve into an impromptu dunk contest in the fourth quarter -- and this time around there will be four teams coached by prominent ex-NBA players. The teams will participate in a mini-tournament featuring the always-exciting Elam Ending with a final target score.
Below you'll find viewing information and the format for the event, along with the full rosters.
How to watch: Rising Stars Game
Date: Friday, Feb. 17 | Time: 9 p.m. ET
Location: Vivint Arena -- Salt Lake City, Utah
TV and live stream: TNT
Teams
Former NBA All-Stars Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and Deron Williams will serve as coaches for the three NBA Rising-Star teams, while former Sixth Man of the Year Jason Terry will lead the G League team. Gasol, Noah and Williams drafted their seven-player teams on Feb. 7 from a pool of rookies and sophomores. The fourth team, coached by Terry, will be composed of the aforementioned G League representatives.
Team Pau selected Banchero with the No. 1 pick, Team Deron selected Wagner with the No. 2 pick and Team Joakim selected Mobley with the No. 3 pick. It was a snake-style draft, so Team Joakim had the first pick of the second round, which it used on Giddey. Here are the three teams, with players listed in the order in which they were drafted:
- Team Pau: Paolo Banchero, Bennedict Mathurin, Jaden Ivey, Scottie Barnes, Jose Alvarado, Keegan Murray, Andrew Nembhard
- Team Deron: Franz Wagner, Jalen Green*, Alperen Sengun, Trey Murphy III, AJ Griffin, Bones Hyland, Walker Kessler, Ayo Dosunmu**
- Team Joakim: Evan Mobley, Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams, Jeremy Sochan, Quentin Grimes, Jabari Smith Jr., Jalen Duren*, Tari Eason**
- Team Jason: 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)
*injured, will not play
**injury replacement
Format
The four teams will compete in a three-game tournament, and each game will feature the Elam Ending. The format, via NBA.com, will be as follows:
All three games will be played to a Final Target Score, which means the game will end on a made basket or free throw rather than time expiring.
The two semifinal games -- Game 1 and Game 2 -- will be played to a Final Target Score of 40.
The final game, featuring the winners, will be played to a Final Target Score of 25 to determine the tournament champion.
- Game 1: Team A vs. Team B
- Game 2: Team C vs. Team D
- Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
