The 2015 NBA All-Star weekend tips off in earnest Friday night as the league’s rookies and sophomores meet for this year’s Rising Stars Challenge. Typically a high-flying affair featuring many of the best young players in the game, the Rising Stars Challenge figures to be the perfect way to get your hoops fix as the league celebrates a week in New York City.
NBA Rising Stars Challenge 2015: Rookie-Sophomore game time, TV schedule and live stream
It’s Team USA vs. Team World as the NBA’s best rookies and sophomores meet for the Rising Stars Challenge.
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Changing up the format after two years of fantasy drafts and victories for “Team Chuck,” the league has ditched the old setup in favor of a USA vs. World configuration. Rosters for the game were announced near the end of January, with 10 first- and second-year players being listed for each team.
While the USA tends to dominate international competitions like the Olympics and the FIBA World Cup, the tables may be turned for this event. On paper, the World team appears to have a significant advantage in terms of talent, especially when it comes to size and frontcourt depth.
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The World team is led by Timberwolves rookie Andrew Wiggins (Canada) and Bucks second-year star Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), but it's the team's surplus of big men that could cause trouble for the USA, though several key big men pulled out due to injury. Still, Rudy Gobert (France), Nikola Mirotic (Montenegro) and Gorgui Dieng (Senegal) should be able to completely overwhelm an American frontcourt that's lacking.
The USA team has a solid group of guards in Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton, Trey Burke and Zach LaVine, but it's hard to see how the frontcourt will keep up. Nerlens Noel, Mason Plumlee and Cody Zeller are the only true bigs on the roster, and that trio pales in comparison to what World coach Kenny Atkinson gets to bring to the table with his roster.
So the World team appears to have a significant advantage in a game where only one thing is certain: lots of points will be scored. The past five winning teams have scored an average of 148 points, and that’s in a game with two 20-minute halves instead of four 12-minute quarters.
Game time: 9 p.m. ET
Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn
TV: TNT
Stream: Watch TNT
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