During the night from Friday to Saturday, from 3 a.m., the best young people in the NBA will compete in a mini-tournament.
A competition reserved for the most prominent rookies, players in their first year, the best sophomores, elements in their second year, and players in the NBA G League, the NBA development league.
The latter are also promising young people who must join the NBA during the 2024 Draft. For this edition, Victor Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly will be there, broadcast live on the BeIN Sports channels.
How does the Rising Stars Challenge work?
The 11 best rookies and the 13 best sophomores are divided between four teams.
The final team is made up entirely of G League Ignite players.
These teams, coached by former American basketball legends, compete in a Cup format: semi-finals then a final.
In the final four, a match ends when a team reaches the 40-point mark.
In the final, the first team to 25 points wins the Rising Star Challenge.
Last year, the team of Spaniard Pau Gasol, former star center of the Los Angeles Lakers, beat that of Frenchman Joakim Noah, formerly of the Chicago Bulls, in particular.
New Orleans Pelicans leader José Alvarado was named best player of the tournament – MVP (most valuable player), in English.
This American format has existed for two years.
💥La NOCHE de los CHAVALES💥
La FINAL, TEAM PAU vs TEAM NOAH
El que llegaba a 25 points ganaba y... ¡esto ha pasado!
#NBAAllStar 💥 pic.twitter.com/OfnbbsNVOR
— NBASpain (@NBAspain) February 18, 2023
Which teams are participating?
After their association with the Mets 92, the two Frenchmen Victor Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly will be teammates again, this time in Gasol's team.
They will be accompanied by rookies Brandon Miller (Charlotte Hornets), Brandin Podziemski (Golden State Warriors), Jaime Jaquez.
Jr. (Miami Heat), Cason Wallace (Oklahoma City Thunder) and by Houston Rockets sophomore Jabari Smith Jr.
The other teams will be coached by Jalen Rose, former winger for the Indiana Pacers, the American Tamika Catchings, WNBA MVP in 2011, and by the German Detlef Shrempf, best 6th man of the year in 1991 and 1992. Team Rose will include, among others, Chet Holmgren (Thunder) and Jeremy Sochan (Spurs) in its squad.
That of Catchings will have Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic) and Scoot Henderson (Portland Blazers).
Detlef Shrempf will lead the G League team Ignite.
Victor Wembanyama 🇫🇷 and Bilal Coulibaly 🇫🇷 become TEAMMATES again.
For one evening, during the Rising Stars Challenge 2024. 🌟
Thank you Pau Gasol.
🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/k4M2ulGsMR
— Basket USA 🏀 (@basketusa) February 6, 2024
How are players selected?
The technical staffs of the 30 franchises voted for 10 players.
Franchises were not allowed to vote for their own items.
Subsequently, Pau Gasol, Tamika Catchings and Jalen Rose each chose seven players to form three teams.
The NBA G League team already exists, since it plays in the G League, no selection was necessary.
How long has the Rising Stars Challenge been around?
This event has existed since 1994, and the formats have evolved over the years.
Until 1998, only rookies could participate in the match, divided between the two conferences (East and West).
From 2000 until 2011, the meeting pitted the best rookies and the best sophomores against each other.
A true experimental laboratory for the NBA, this clash of the best young people underwent a new change in 2012: the match was divided into two 20-minute halves, as in the American university championship, the NCAA.
Read alsoNBA: the two Frenchmen Frank Ntilikina and Killian Hayes “cut” by their franchise
In search of a new international market, the League changed the teams by pitting Americans against international NBA players.
But since 2022, the current format has been adopted, with these four teams led by renowned coaches, therefore.
How many French people participated?
Since its creation, seven French people have had the honor of participating.
The first was Tony Parker in 2002 and 2003. We will have to wait until 2015 to see a Frenchman take part again with Rudy Gobert, then with the Utah Jazz.
Frank Ntilikina will play there in 2018 before seeing Théo Maledon be selected there in 2021. The last is Sidy Cissoko in 2023 for the NBA G League.
Back in time, the best of Tony Parker's rookie season pic.twitter.com/FiHtM20vVp
— Basket-Infos (@Basket_Infos) June 16, 2018
This year, for the first time, two French people will participate together, in the same team.
Other French people could be included in this list next year like Zaccharie Risacher or Alexandre Sarr, expected in the Top 3 of the 2024 Draft.
What are the notable performances?
Several young people broke the screen in this match without stakes.
We can cite Kevin Durant and his 46 points in 2009, the record, Russell Westbrook in 2010 (40 points) or even Daniel Gibson, player of the Cleveland Cavaliers for seven seasons in the NBA, who made 11 three-point shots in 2007. It remains to be seen whether Victor Wembanyama or Bilal Coulibaly will perform at the same level.
When Kevin Durant put 46 points in 2009 All-Star rookie challenge 🔥 @KDTrey5 pic.twitter.com/bCqgb3xJp8
— Misha Konygin (@gdfactoryclips) March 9, 2021
To admire the
French Connection
between Wembanyama and Coulibaly, go to beIN Sports 1 at 3 a.m. on the night of Friday to Saturday February 16.