The rookie seasons of the No. 1 pick of last year’s draft, Paolo Banchero, and Scottie Pippen Jr. – the son of the Chicago Bulls legend that went undrafted last summer – will include a trip to NBA All-Star weekend.
The two NBA freshmen and G-League star Scoot Henderson, who is expected to be drafted as the first or second overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft along with French giant Victor Wembanyama, were announced on Tuesday as participants in this year’s Rising Stars Game.
The star-studded exhibition game will be held in Salt Lake City on February 17, two nights before the All-Star game.
Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 pick of the 2022 Draft, has been selected for the Rising Stars game
NBA G-League stars Scottie Pippen Jr. (left) and Scoot Henderson have also been picked
Banchero, now a power forward for the Orlando Magic, leads all NBA rookies with a 20.7 points-per-game average. He could even be selected as an All-Star reserve. Those players will be revealed on Thursday.
‘Anytime you can get a chance to be a part of All-Star weekend, you can’t say no,’ Banchero said. ‘Especially me, being a rookie, first year, never experienced it before, it’s always been the dream to just be a part of that whether it was Rising Stars or a reserve. I’m definitely excited to get there and just see what it’s like.’
Bancheor is on pace to be the first rookie to average 20 points per game since Luka Doncic in 2018-19. He also is fourth among rookies in rebounds per game entering Tuesday and third coming in steals per game.
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said the All-Star experience — whether just for Rising Stars or not — will have an impact on Banchero.
Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey, last summer’s fifth overall pick, will also be a participant
The Houston Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr, last summer’s No. 3 overall draft pick, will be in Utah too
‘Just being around other young players that have found themselves in that position, it does so much because its your peers,’ Mosley said. ‘You’re around a group of young men who are the elite of the league in that class. I think it says something to the work that you’rve put in, the work that he’s put in.’
‘It’s going to do wonders for how he continues to believe in himself, what we’re doing as a team and his continued growth.’
Also picked from the game from this rookie class: Detroit’s Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey, Atlanta’s A.J. Griffin, Utah’s Walker Kessler, Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard, Sacramento’s Keegan Murray, Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr., San Antonio’s Jeremy Sochan and Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams.
Scottie Barnes, who was last season’s Rookie of the Year, will play in the Rising Stars game too
Pau Gasol (left, seen in 2009) is among three former NBA players who’ll coach the youngsters
The second-year players selected were New Orleans’ Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy III, Toronto’s Scottie Barnes, Oklahoma City’s Josh Giddey, Houston’s Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun, New York’s Quentin Grimes, Denver’s Bones Hyland, Cleveland’s Evan Mobley and Orlando’s Franz Wagner.
There will also be a team of G League players in the Rising Stars event, composed of Sidy Cissoko, Mojave King, Kennth Lofton Jr., Mac McClung, Leonard Miller and both Henderson and Pippen Jr. The team will be coached by former Sixth Man of the Year (2009) and one-time NBA champion (2011) Jason Terry.
The three other teams, only comprised of NBA rookies and sophomores, will be coached by Pau Gasol, a six-time NBA All-Star and two time NBA champion; Joakim Noah, a two-time NBA All-Star and 2013-2014 KIA NBA Defensive Player of the Year; and Deron Williams, a three-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-NBA Second Team member.
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