The 2024 Panini Rising Stars, the NBA’s annual showcase of elite young talent, will take place on Friday, February 16 (9 p.m. ET, TNT) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis as part of NBA All-Star 2024. Honorary coaches Pau Gasol, Tamika Catchings, and Jalen Rose organized a player draft in which Victor Wembanyama was selected first overall by Team Pau.
Detlef Schrempf will coach the NBA G League players.
Team Pau
Victor Wembanyama (rookie, San Antonio Spurs)
Brandon Miller (Rookie, Charlotte Hornets).
Brandin Podziemski (Rookie; Golden State Warriors)
Jaime Jaquez, Jr. (Rookie, Miami Heat).
Jabari Smith Jr. (sophomore, Houston Rockets)
Cason Wallace (Rookie, OKC Thunder)
Bilal Coulibaly (rookie, Washington Wizards)
Team Tamika
Paolo Banchero (Sophomore, Orlando Magic).
Jaden Ivey (Sophomore; Detroit Pistons)
Jalen Duren (Sophomore; Detroit Pistons)
Keegan Murray (sophomore, Sacramento Kings)
Scoot Henderson (Rookie, Portland Trailblazers)
Keyonte George (rookie, Utah Jazz)
Dyson Daniels (Sophomore, New Orleans Pelicans): Team Chet Holmgren is a rookie with the Oklahoma City Thunder, while Jalen Williams is a sophomore.
Benedict Mathurin (Sophomore; Indiana Pacers)
Shaedon Sharpe (Sophomore; Portland Trail Blazers)
Dereck Lively II (rookie, Dallas Mavericks)
Jordan Hawkins (rookie, New Orleans Pelicans)
Walker Kessler (Sophomore; Utah Jazz)
Team Detlef
Izan Almansa (G League: Ignite)
Matas Buzelis (G League, Ignite)
Ron Holland (G League, Ignite)
Mac McClung (Oceola Magic)
Tyler Smith (G League Ignite).
Oscar Tshiebwe of the Indiana Mad Ants and Alondes Williams of the Sioux Falls Skyforce are also two-way players.
11 Rookies. 10 Sophomores. 7 G Leaguers. Meet the 2024 #PaniniRisingStars! 🌟 pic.twitter.com/96R1rbRDJI
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) January 31, 2024
HOW IT WORKS.
For the third consecutive season, the showcase will include a three-game mini-tournament between four teams made up of NBA rookies, sophomores, and NBA G League players.
Gasol (Team Pau), Catchings (Team Tamika), and Rose (Team Jalen) chose their teams during the Rising Stars Draft, which took place live on the NBA App on Tuesday, February 6. Schrempf (Team Detlef) will coach the NBA G League players.
All three games in the mini-tournament will be played to a Final Target Score, which means that each game will conclude with a made basket or free throw rather than time running out.
The two semifinal games, Game 1 and Game 2, will be contested to a final target score of 40.
The final game, comprising the winners, will be played to a Final Target Score of 25 to declare the tournament winner.
Game 1: Team A versus Team B
Game 2: Team C versus Team D
Game 3: pits the winner of Game 1 against the winner of Game 2.
THE COACHES
Gasol, a six-time NBA All-Star and member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, will return as one of four honorary head coaches after leading his side to the Rising Stars championship last year. Catchings, Rose, and Schrempf will also serve as honorary head coaches alongside Gasol.
Catchings, an Indiana Fever great and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, led the team to the 2012 WNBA title. Rose led the Pacers reach the 2000 NBA Finals and was named the Kia NBA Most Improved Player that season. Schrempf, a three-time NBA All-Star, earned consecutive Kia NBA Sixth Man Awards with the Pacers in 1990-91 and 1991-92.
HOW WERE PLAYERS SELECTED?
Each NBA team submitted one ballot per coaching staff to choose Panini Rising Stars players. Each coaching staff chose four frontcourt players, four guards, and two extra players at each position in order of preference for the rookie and sophomore ballots. Coaches were not allowed to vote for any players on their squad.
The NBA contestants for Panini Rising Stars were chosen based on the total points collected from the ballots. Points were provided according on where a player ranked on each poll. In terms of overall points received, the player pool has one more rookie than sophomores.
