SAN FRANCISCO — Rising stars usually have to wait their turn to step on the big stage. They play on All-Star Weekend before it’s technically the weekend, a Friday night preview of future greatness from the NBA’s finest collection of precocious novices.
But things changed on Valentine’s Day in the Bay. The NBA’s response to the recent embarrassment that is the All-Star Game on Sunday was a new mini-tournament format introduced this season. The All-Star rosters were divided into three teams of eight, managed by Inside the NBA’s crew of Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith.
The fourth entrant to Sunday evening’s All-Star tournament is the winner of the Rising Stars championship, who will be coached by TNT analyst Candace Parker. In a preview of Sunday’s All-Star tournament, the Rising Stars group was also divided into three squads. A fourth entrant comprised of G League players completed the bracket and took down the Thompson twins in the first round.
Ultimately, Stephon Castle and Dalton Knecht led Team C to victory, becoming the first rising stars team to compete against the league’s biggest names.
“About to play my first All-Star Game. That’s crazy as a rookie,” Knecht said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. We are going to try to go out there and put on a show and try to make it competitive for sure. We’re going to try to get that win.”
The Rising Stars tournament had an initial round of two games, with the winner being the first to score 40 points. That created a quick and competitive environment that eliminated a lot of the listless play that has plagued All-Star weekend over the past decade. Though the chance to appear in the big game Sunday was a motivator, the league structuring these games in a more efficient and competitive manner made for a better product.
“I think it’s going to bring a whole new dynamic,” Miami Heat wing Jamie Jaquez Jr. said. “I think (it’s) a new energy, a new life to this All-Star Weekend.”
This isn’t just an opportunity for the usual rising stars that eventually go on to be key starters for competitive teams around the league. This also was the rare chance for G Leaguers to play on the national stage.
“Man, I’m grateful to be out here, blessed to be out here,” said JD Davison, guard for the G League’s Maine Celtics. “Just to show people I can compete with the big dogs, not only from a competitive standpoint, but just to show people I can make shots and defend at a high level.”
But the big question was whether this tournament structure, and the chance to play in the All-Star Game(s), would get these players to compete hard.
“For sure. We were just trying to go out there and win,” Knecht said. “It took us a while to get warm in that second game. But once we got going, we felt just comfortable. We were swinging the ball, everyone was touching it, and just shooting it with confidence.”
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It was a good thing Knecht’s squad figured it out quickly, because just about everyone was surprised about halfway through the championship game, when they realized the target score to win was just 25.
“That timeout where we were up 12 to 8, I looked up and saw it (was to) 25 and I was like, ‘Oh snap, I didn’t know what was going on,’” Davison said. “Then they came out and didn’t miss. So I guess they knew.”
Castle, the San Antonio Spurs guard, led the way in the championship game and received the MVP award after his team finished on a 17-2 run. Castle was asked if he has his eyes on the rare All-Star Weekend trifecta, going for the Rising Stars MVP, Dunk Contest championship and then All-Star tournament MVP.
“I’ve definitely thought about it. I want to take it one step at a time, though,” Castle said. “Maybe get back to me tomorrow after I win the Dunk Contest.”
With the way his rookie season is going, Castle could become a fixture at All-Star weekend down the road. But not everyone involved in this game has had a smooth rookie campaign. Knecht was recently traded to the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams, only to be sent back to the Lakers when they rescinded the trade following Williams’ medical review. It’s an awkward situation having to come back to a team who decided to move on from you, but Knecht is making the best of an awkward situation.
“What I told those guys when I got back is I just want to play basketball. That’s what I love to do,” Knecht said. “That’s like the only thing I love to do, is play basketball.”
He’ll be able to get some of that tension out of his system, saying he’s looking forward to going up against his teammate LeBron James, looking to make a statement. But as excited as he is for that moment, it’s still hard to process. It remains to be seen if this novel approach to All-Star weekend will make a difference with the audience, but the players are enjoying it.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Knecht said. “Going up against the All-Stars is going to be a lot of fun. I watched a lot of it growing up as a kid. So now I’m a part of it.”
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(Photo: Joe Murphy / NBAE via Getty Images)
