NBA All-Stars Luka Dončić and Trae Young headline U.S. vs. World showdown in 2020 NBA Rising Stars

NEW YORK – NBA All-Stars Luka Dončić of the Dallas Mavericks and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks lead the list of 20 players selected by NBA assistant coaches to play in the 2020 NBA Rising Stars on Friday, Feb. 14 at the United Center in Chicago.

The 26th Rising Stars will pit 10 first- and second-year NBA players from the United States against 10 first- and second-year NBA players from around the world in the league’s annual showcase of premier young talent during NBA All-Star.  Rising Stars will air live at 9 p.m. ET on TNT and ESPN Radio in the United States.  Tickets are available at NBAEvents.com.

Dončić (Slovenia) is joined on the World Team by New Orleans Pelicans guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Canada); Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton (Bahamas); New York Knicks guard/forward RJ Barrett (Canada); Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke (Canada); Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada); Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura (Japan) and center Moritz Wagner (Germany); Detroit Pistons guard/forward Svi Mykhailiuk (Ukraine); and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Josh Okogie (Nigeria).

Young is joined on the U.S. Team by Charlotte Hornets forwards Miles Bridges and PJ Washington and guard Devonte’ Graham; Chicago Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr.; Miami Heat guards Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn; Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. and guard Ja Morant; and Golden State Warriors forward Eric Paschall.

Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in NBA Draft 2019 presented by State Farm, has been selected by the NBA to join the U.S. Team as the replacement for the injured Carter, who has not played for the Bulls since sustaining a sprained right ankle on Jan. 6.  Carter is not expected to return to game action until after the All-Star break.

Dončić and Young return to NBA Rising Stars after playing in last year’s game as rookies.  They have also been voted to start the 2020 NBA All-Star Game, marking the first time that multiple second-year NBA players will start an All-Star Game since 1996 (Grant Hill and Jason Kidd).

The U.S. Team includes three players from the Hornets and two each from the Heat and the Grizzlies.  Miami’s Nunn and Memphis’ Morant have won both Kia NBA Rookies of the Month in the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, respectively, this season.

The World Team features four players who participated as campers in Basketball Without Borders (BWB), the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball and development community outreach program: Ayton (BWB Global 2016), Barrett (BWB Global 2017), Hachimura (BWB Global 2016) and Gilgeous-Alexander (BWB Global 2016).

A record four Canadians are participating in Rising Stars: Alexander-Walker, Barrett, Clarke and Gilgeous-Alexander.  Alexander-Walker and Gilgeous-Alexander are cousins.

Hachimura is the first player from Japan to be named to a Rising Stars roster.  He became the first Japanese player ever selected in the first round of the NBA Draft when the Wizards made him the ninth pick in 2019.

NBA assistant coaches selected the Rising Stars rosters, with each of the league’s 30 teams submitting one ballot per coaching staff.  A ballot consisted of four frontcourt players, four guards and two additional players at either position group for each team.  Voters also had to choose a minimum of three first-year NBA players and three second-year NBA players for each team.  Coaches were not permitted to vote for any player on their team.

The coaching staffs for the Rising Stars teams will consist of assistant coaches from the NBA All-Star Game.  Rising Stars will be a 40-minute game with four 10-minute periods.  An MVP award will be given out at the conclusion of the game.  Click here for complete Rising Stars game rules.

As previously announced, rap artist and Chicago native Taylor Bennett will perform at halftime of Rising Stars.  Bennett is the brother of Chance the Rapper, who will perform at halftime of the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.

NBA opening-night rosters for the 2019-20 season featured 108 international players from 38 countries and territories.  This marked the sixth consecutive season that opening-night rosters included at least 100 international players and that all 30 teams had at least one international player.

Below are the rosters for the 2020 NBA Rising Stars and a list of past results.

                                                                                                                                               

U.S. TEAM ROSTER

No. Player (Team) Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate College Years
0 Miles Bridges (Charlotte) F 6-6 225 03/21/1998 Michigan State 1
34 Wendell Carter Jr. (Chicago)* C 6-10 270 04/16/1999 Duke 1
4 Devonte’ Graham (Charlotte) G 6-1 195 02/22/1995 Kansas 1
14 Tyler Herro (Miami) G 6-5 200 01/20/2000 Kentucky R
13 Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis) F 6-11 242 09/15/1999 Michigan State 1
12 Ja Morant (Memphis) G 6-3 175 08/10/1999 Murray State R
25 Kendrick Nunn (Miami) G 6-2 190 08/03/1995 Oakland R
7 Eric Paschall (Golden State) F 6-6 255 11/04/1996 Villanova R
25 PJ Washington (Charlotte) F 6-7 230 08/23/1998 Kentucky R
1 Zion Williamson (New Orleans)^ F 6-6 285 07/06/2000 Duke R
11 Trae Young (Atlanta) G 6-1 180 09/19/1998 Oklahoma 1

*Injured/will not play

^Injury replacement

WORLD TEAM ROSTER

Prior to NBA/
No. Player (Team) Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate Home Country Years
0 Nickeil Alexander-Walker (New Orleans) G 6-5 205 09/02/1998 Virginia Tech/Canada R
22 Deandre Ayton (Phoenix) C 6-11 250 07/23/1998 Arizona/Bahamas 1
9 RJ Barrett (New York) G/F 6-6 214 06/14/2000 Duke/Canada R
15 Brandon Clarke (Memphis) F 6-8 210 09/19/1996 Gonzaga/Canada R
77 Luka Dončić (Dallas) G/F 6-7 230 02/28/1999 Real Madrid (Spain)/Slovenia 1
2 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City) G 6-5 181 07/12/1998 Kentucky/Canada 1
8 Rui Hachimura (Washington) F 6-8 230 02/08/1998 Gonzaga/Japan R
19 Svi Mykhailiuk (Detroit) G/F 6-7 205 06/10/1997 Kansas/Ukraine 1
20 Josh Okogie (Minnesota) G 6-4 212 09/01/1998 Georgia Tech/Nigeria 1
21 Moritz Wagner (Washington) C 6-11 245 04/26/1997 Michigan/Germany 1

 

NBA RISING STARS RESULTS

1994 – Phenoms 74, Sensations 68 2008 – Sophomores 136, Rookies 109
1995 – White 83, Green 79 (OT) 2009 – Sophomores 122, Rookies 116
1996 – East 94, West 92 2010 – Rookies 140, Sophomores 128
1997 – East 96, West 91 2011 – Rookies 148, Sophomores 140
1998 – East 85, West 80 2012 – Team Chuck 146, Team Shaq 133
2000 – Rookies 92, Sophomores 83 (OT) 2013 – Team Chuck 163, Team Shaq 135
2001 – Sophomores 121, Rookies 113 2014 – Team Hill 142, Team Webber 136
2002 – Rookies 103, Sophomores 97 2015 – World Team 121, U.S. Team 112
2003 – Sophomores 132, Rookies 112 2016 – U.S. Team 157, World Team 154
2004 – Sophomores 142, Rookies 118 2017 – World Team 150, U.S. Team 141
2005 – Sophomores 133, Rookies 106 2018 – World Team 155, U.S. Team 124
2006 – Sophomores 106, Rookies 96 2019 – U.S. Team 161, World Team 144
2007 – Sophomores 155, Rookies 114