NBA Rising Stars Challenge: A Preview To The Bright Future

With the NBA Rising Stars Challenge participants announced Thursday night, we are once again reminded of the future All-Stars this beautiful league possesses

Call me crazy, but part of me is more excited to watch this USA vs The World game than the actual 2017 NBA All-Star game.

I’m a sucker for young talent and potential, which both of these rosters are stuffed with.

There is a certain beauty about watching a young guy come into the league and witnessing his growth over the years as an elite player.

At first glance, I saw the World roster and thought to myself “this will be a bloodbath”. Both rosters are completely stacked in the post and defense during All-Star weekend is limited. You have Joel Embiid probably starting at center who should’ve been an All-Star and is the biggest personality we’ve seen in the league since Shaq.

Everywhere he goes and everything he does people want to see. He attracts the spotlight just as much as the greatest players in our league today. Jojo was born to play in All-Star weekend.

Alongside The Process at PF will either be Nikola Jokic or Kristaps Porzingis. Pick your poison. Both are part of the future NBA big man transformation. My last piece, I wrote about Jokic and how he has able to do everything for the Nuggets.

He can stretch out and hit the mid range jumper with consistency, but more importantly he is a post playmaker. He can run the offense through the post and dime up any of his four teammates cutting or spotting up.

Kporzee will be one of those four teammates in this game who will salivate over the opportunities Jokic will set him up for. He is a three-point sniper at 7-foot-3 who can also put it on the floor and move like a wing.

After those big three, there is a slight drop off, particularly with the guards. Jamal Murray and Buddy Heild will be important to the World Team with their ability to spread the floor and knock down threes.

Mudiay and Exum make up the point guard spot. They’re long and athletic which could cause problems for the USA guards defensively, but look for them to set up the big three and watch them put on a show.

Team USA

So then, at second glance, I remembered that Karl Anthony Towns is a monster. He along with Embiid was considered an All-Star snub, but due to his team’s record and lack of consistency, was left off the roster.

No 7-foot post is supposed to be able to do that. With Myles Turner by his side probably switched to the starting PF, This post battle between the two teams should be legendary. Myles is another guy that you have to contest out on the perimeter. He is quicker and more athletic than Jokic, so watch for these post players to be the main focus of the scoring.

On the perimeter for team USA you have D’Angelo Russell and Devin Booker. D’Angelo’s middle name is Showtime. He was another player that was born to have all eyes on him. He is going to feel right at home during All-Star weekend making flashy passes to his side kick DBook.

Booker is quietly averaging 20.7 points per game on an underachiving Suns team. Yes some of ( a lot of) his points are garbage time points and his scoring is inflated due to games being out of hand but he has made great strides since his rookie season last year.

Malcolm Brogdon has been the surprise rookie of this years draft class. A Senior last year at Virginia, he was overlooked because he was already 23 years old and not part of the one-and-done mold. He is averaging nine points, three rebounds and four assists for the Bucks this year including some sneaky athletic highlight reel dunks.

Brandon Ingram is another guy that could make an impact on this Rising Stars game. At 6-foot-9, Ingram has the ability to handle the ball and create shots for other guys. This is very rare for a guy with his build, and is one of the main reasons the Lakers see so much potential in Brandon. There is no better platform to showcase his playmaking ability and rare size and bucket getting  than All-Star weekend.

Overall, I think The World has too much skill and scoring inside. They are going to rotate Embiid, Jokic, and Porzingis on KAT defensively, and offensively I wouldn’t be surprised if they started Kristaps at SF.

Must Read: Takeaways From The 2017 NBA All-Star Selections

I wish Team USA good luck on guarding a 7-foot-3 unicorn sniper on the wing, a 6-foot-11 assist wizard on one block, and a stretch 5 baby Shaq on the other block. What i do know is this game will be a hell of a time to watch. All of these young superstars will put on a show. For the majority of them, they will continue to put on a show on the big stage for years to come.