NBA All-Star 2012: Kyrie Irving Can’t Miss, Leads Team Chuck To ‘Rising Stars’ Win

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A month ago, All-Star Friday probably would have been a waste of time. The Rookie game -- or this year, the “BBVA Rising Stars Challenge” -- is the sleepy, sloppy opening act of the weekend, and the sort of game that’s probably best enjoyed on TV, in the background at a bar somewhere. But this year was different, at least beforehand.

A few minutes later, we got an answer, sort of. The press conference led off with a question about NBA2K. “The world has seen you progress over these last weeks. A few of us have gotten to see you progress virtually through video games in NBA2K12. Can you tell us how they had you ranked if you know, and the progression through the last few weeks?”

The end of the Rising Stars Challenge was basically a dunk contest with the game still actually going on. This is what we get during an All-Star Weekend exhibition, and it was pretty fun for a while. Both teams were going back and forth, clearing out as players took turns throwing down dunks on each of the floor.

Look at him bait Wall. “Go ahead, you’re clear. I’m not gonna do anything ... psych, gotcha!” To be fair, Wall was kind of hogging the ball and the lob to himself was just begging to be stolen.

While the Rising Stars Challenge didn’t exactly resemble NBA basketball, it was a wildly entertaining event full of alley-oops, showtime dunks and minimal defense. Charles Barkley’s team jumped out to an early lead in the game and never relinquished it, defeating Team Shaq 146-133.

Irving led all scorers with 34 points, incredibly shooting 8-8 from behind the arc.

When we last saw MarShon Brooks, he was struggling to get up for a dunk on a 2-on-0 break. That time, Brooks’ error led to a hilarious gif, but he wasn’t done just yet. No, he managed to nearly top himself in the second half.

You can pretty much see Brooks’ thought process here. He has a clean mid-range jumper, but thinks “nah, too easy.” Instead, he backpedals all the way out to the three-point line, adding a bit of drama to the sequence. And then this happens.

Ricky Rubio is having a bit of fun in the Rising Stars Challenge and we’re all winners as a result. Well, all of us except DeMarcus Cousins, who was the victim of a Rubio nutmeg. Cousins tried to stop the ball on a break at midcourt, but Rubio wasn’t having any of it, and the result was a highlight reel play.

Here’s Rubio going through Cousins’ legs before lobbing to Blake Griffin.

The 2012 Rising Stars Challenge is halfway in the books in Orlando, as the All-Star Weekend event pits teams of freshman and sophomore up-and-coming NBA stars against one another. The teams are coached by Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley, with Team Chuck holding a 77-65 lead at the half.

To this point, the Rising Stars Challenge is a hotly-contested and serious affair, with no clowning whatsoever.

Here’s Brooks’ “attempt.” It didn’t work out so well.

That’s Brooks’ “I got this, I got this, oh no I don’t got this ... quick play it off” move. He appeared to be trying to bounce it to himself for a windmill dunk and it just didn’t happen for whatever reason. He may not have gotten enough on his jump or he may have lost the handle, but whatever the case it was hilarious.

And in case you wanted to watch the moment of truth over and over again on an unending loop (and of course you do), here is a GIF for your enjoyment:

Yep, just gonna be watching that for a little while over here.

Lin found Griffin with a well-placed lob early in the first half, with Griffin doing what he does at the rim. He flushed it with authority and, surprisingly, the Internet did not explode.

Now if Lin lobs to Rubio, who then lobs to Griffin for the dunk, we may not survive.

We’ve all got Linsanity. It’s Lincredible. His Linconceivable success had permeated our collective hivemind and Linfiltrated our every waking moment. So you probably want to see the shoes that he’ll be wearing at tonight’s Rising Stars Challenge as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend, right? Check them out after the jump.

via @treykerby

The annual BBVA Rising Stars Challenge is an exhibition game during the NBA All-Star Weekend that is designed to showcase young, up-and-coming talent. The game takes place the night before the NBA All-Star Game and is held at the Amway Center in Orlando.

The BBVA Rising Stars Challenge will begin at 9:00 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 28 and will be televised nationally on TNT.

The 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend has descended upon Orlando. One of the items on the docket for the weekend is the annual BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, which will take place 9 p.m. ET Feb. 24 at the Amway Center. The exhibition game prior to the main exhibition game is meant to showcase “up-and-coming” young NBA players.

The two teams in this year’s event are helmed by a pair of former NBA superstars and current real-world eccentrics. Team Chuck, coached by Charles Barkley, will square off against Team Shaq, led by Shaquille O’Neal. The two coaches held a draft Feb. 16 to pick teams, and Barkley’s team shapes up like this:

NBA All-Star Weekend is upon us. Part of the festivities in Orlando is the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, which will take place at the Amway Center on Friday, Feb. 24 at 9:00 p.m. ET. The exhibition game prior to the main exhibition game is meant to showcase “up-and-coming” young NBA players.

The two teams in this year’s event are Team Shaq, coached by Shaquille O’Neal, and Team Chuck, headed up by Charles Barkley. The two coaches recently held a draft on Thursday, Feb. 16 to pick teams, and when the smoke cleared, this was the final Team Shaq roster:

Replacing the Rookie/Sophomore Challenge, the first annual BBVA Rising Stars Challenge will take place at the 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend this year. TNT analysts Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley selected the teams from a pool of nine rookies and nine sophomores made available by the NBA.

The 2012 Rising Stars Challenge will be played on Friday, Feb. 24, 2012, in Orlando as part of All-Star Weekend.

The NBA revealed the 18 players that will make up the first-annual “Rising Stars Challenge” at the 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend. The game, formerly the Rookie/Sophomore Challenge, features TNT analysts Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley picking teams from a pool of nine rookies and nine sophomores. Those 18 players are as follows:

The 2012 Rising Stars Challenge will be played on Friday, Feb. 24 in Orlando as part of All-Star Weekend.