The NBA will be changing the format of the Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend this season. Among other things, the talents of the NBA G-League team will be able to compete with the best rookies and sophomores.
As the NBA announced, the format of the event will be completely changed. For the past few years, the best US talent has flocked to Team World, with only players in their sophomore year in the NBA allowed to participate.
Nothing will change about that, instead there will now be four small mini-teams with seven players each, which are made up as follows. Twelve rookies, twelve sophomores and four players from the G-League Ignite will participate. The rookies and sophomores are chosen by the NBA assistant coaches, and the Ignite players are chosen by the G-League coaches.
The format is that there will be two semi-finals and then a final. In the semifinals, the team that reaches 50 points first wins, in the final 25 points are enough.
There will also be a throwing competition between the semi-finals and the final. Throws have to be made from various positions, which caused “iconic moments” during the NBA playoffs. There will be four teams of two who have to try to hit these throws as quickly as possible.
This season’s All-Star Weekend is scheduled for February 18-20 in Cleveland, with the Rising Stars Challenge traditionally taking place on Friday. Saturday remains untouched with the Skills Challenge, 3-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest, as does Sunday’s All-Star Game.
