Today, the Sixers announced that Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel were selected to participate in the annual Rising Stars Challenge. The game will take place in Brooklyn, NY as a part of All-Star Weekend on Friday, February 13th.
This game has undergone plenty of changes over the years. Once known as the Rookie and Sophomore game, this season, the Rising Stars Challenge will pit the United States against the World.
Both Carter-Williams and Noel will join Mason Plumlee, Trey Burke, Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton and others on the U.S. Team Roster. They will be going up against the likes of Andrew Wiggins, Dante Exum, Kelly Olynyk and the rest of the World Team. This year marks the first Rising Stars Challenge since 2005 that the Sixers have had two representatives in the game. Andre Iguodala and Kyle Korver both went for Philadelphia in '05.
Sixers rookie, Nerlens Noel, is having an up and down season, but continues to lead the rookie class in rebounds (8.3), blocks (1.56) and steals (1.51) per game. Noel had one of his most impressive performances on January 23rd against the Atlantic Division leading Raptors. The Kentucky Alumni scored 12 points, grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds and also tallied two steals in the Sixers 91-86 loss. Nerlens tweeted shortly after the rosters were announced.
Thanks to everyone who voted me into the #BBVACompassRisingStars game! Can't wait to represent Team USA!
— Nerlens Noel (@NerlensNoel3) January 28, 2015
Meanwhile, Michael Carter-Williams will participate in the challenge for the second straight year after capturing Rookie of the Year honors last season. Although his shooting percentage has decreased over 20% from last season, MCW is still putting up good numbers on paper, averaging 15.3 points, seven assists, six rebounds and 1.5 steals in just over 34 minutes per game. Carter-Williams is one of just two NBA players averaging at least 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists this season.
A pair of Sixers may have gotten snubbed from the selection. KJ McDaniels, despite his recent inconsistency, is second among rookies in blocks (1.51) behind his teammate, Nerlens Noel, and also ranks third in scoring with 9.2 points per game. Robert "Big Shot Bob" Covington also would have been a good pick for the game. The former D-League star has settled in with the Sixers, averaging 12.3 points per game and contributing a handful of points from long range. Both Covington and McDaniels may have been selected if the game format had not been changed.
Rising Stars rosters were chosen by the NBA's assistant coaches and had to include four guards, four frontcourt players and two players at any position. The coaches also picked a minimum of three first-year players and three second-year players for each team.
Coaches for the 21st Rising Stars Challenge will be assistants from the All-Star Game coaching staffs. Hawks assistant coach Kenny Atkinson will head up the World Team while Golden State Warriors assistant coach Alvin Gentry will look to put the U.S. Team in the win column.
Check out NBA.com for the full Rising Stars Challenge rosters.
Brandon Apter is a writer for Sixerdelphia.com
