2023 Rising Stars Open Thread

The weekend of Mac McClung begins! While he’s only officially been a Sixer for three days, that won’t stop us from going all-out cheering on Philadelphia’s newest two-way player at NBA All-Star weekend. Before McClung wows the crowd in tomorrow night’s Slam Dunk Contest, avenging Andre Iguodala’s unjust second place finish in 2006, he will be participating in tonight’s Rising Stars Challenge.

Quick reminder of the format — there are four teams of NBA rookies, sophomores, and G League players who will participate in a three-game mini-tournament. Sadly, Jaden Springer was not selected as one of the sophomores. I guess the league hasn’t been reading Harrison Grimm’s Blue Coats check-ins.

But we do have Mac, who once broke Allen Iverson’s Virginia state high school single-season scoring record, then followed in the Answer’s footsteps to Georgetown before transferring to Texas Tech. McClung was originally selected for this event from the G League on Team Jason (as in Jason Terry), before getting signed to one of the Sixers’ two-way contracts on Tuesday.

Many eyes will be on McClung’s teammate tonight, Scoot Henderson, who is expected to be the second overall pick in the upcoming 2023 NBA draft. Here’s the full list of participants, courtesy of NBA.com:

Team Pau (Gasol)

• Paolo Banchero (Magic)
• Benedict Mathurin (Pacers)
• Jaden Ivey (Pistons)
• Scottie Barnes (Raptors)
• Jose Alvarado (Pelicans)
• Keegan Murray (Kings)
• Andrew Nembhard (Pacers)

Team Deron (Williams)

• Franz Wagner (Magic)
• Jalen Green (Rockets) [Injured]
• Alperen Sengun (Rockets)
• Trey Murphy III (Pelicans)
• AJ Griffin (Hawks)
• Bones Hyland (Nuggets)
• Walker Kessler (Jazz)
• Ayo Dosunmu (Bulls) [Injury replacement]

Team Joakim (Noah)

• Evan Mobley (Cavaliers)
• Josh Giddey (Thunder)
• Jalen Williams (Thunder)
• Jeremy Sochan (Spurs)
• Quentin Grimes (Knicks)
• Jabari Smith Jr. (Rockets)
• Jalen Duren (Pistons) [Injured]
• Tari Eason (Rockets) [Injury replacement]

Team Jason (Terry)

• Sidy Cissoko, G League Ignite
• Scoot Henderson, G League Ignite
• Mojave King, G League Ignite
• Kenneth Lofton Jr., Memphis Hustle
• Mac McClung, Delaware Blue Coats
• Leonard Miller, G League Ignite
• Scotty Pippen Jr., South Bay Lakers

Game Details

Who: 2023 Jordan Rising Stars Teams (Team Pau vs. Team Deron vs. Team Joakim vs. Team Jason)
When: 9:00 pm EST
Where: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
Watch: TNT
Radio: ESPN Radio
Follow: @LibertyBallers