By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Dallas Mavericks‘ Luka Doncic, Detroit Pistons‘ Svi Mykhailiuk and Washington Wizards‘ Moritz Wagner are the three players that will represent Europe in the 2020 NBA Rising Stars game. The match between the World team and the U.S. team will be held on Friday, February 14, prior to the All-Star Weekend.
Per NBA:
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 a record-tying 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.
| 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 |