2022 NBA Rising Stars Challenge Online Betting

2022 NBA Rising Stars Challenge Betting

There wasn’t a Rising Stars Challenge for the first time since 1994 last year because of the COVID pandemic. The NBA suffered a lot of pushback for even having an All-Star Game, and the Rising Stars Challenge was one of the events that was called off as a result. However, this event will return in 2022 with a new format that will let young players shine even more. Instead of having two teams with 12 players apiece squaring off in this game, there will be four teams with seven players apiece taking part in a fixed scoring format. This will be a “Race to 75” in honor of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary, and the two semifinals games will see teams compete to 50 points and the finals will see the winner as the first team to 25 points.

When: Friday, February 18, 2022, 9 p.m. ET

Where: Rocket Mortgage Field House, Cleveland, Ohio

Network Coverage: TNT and TBS

Odds: Team LeBron -5.5, 321.5

Rising Stars Challenge

While the game won’t be played in 2021 it is one of the more popular events and has been a staple of All-Star Weekend since 1994. We have seen many forms of the Rising Stars Challenge over the years. When the game was first played it was known as the Rookie Challenge. For the first five years of its existence this game pitted rookies against one another, but the 1999 lockout led to a change in the format. Since rookies couldn’t play in that 1999 game, the 2000 Rising Stars Challenge featured rookies taking on second-year players, and the NBA largely kept that format for two decades.

Rising Stars Format

We will see four teams coached by NBA legends as part of this year’s Rising Stars Challenge. Rick Barry, Gary Payton, Isiah Thomas, and James Worthy each chose seven players for their team, and all four coaches were chosen because they were part of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team as players. Each team has to have one G League Ignite player, and 12 rookies and 12 sophomores total are on all four teams.

Team Barry is likely to be the favorite to win the tournament. They have two of the top rookies in the NBA in No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham and NBA Rookie of the Year frontrunner Evan Mobley. Cunningham is averaging 15.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 5.1 APG for Detroit, while Mobley is a big part of why Cleveland is a contender in the Eastern Conference. Mobley is averaging 14.9 PPG and 8.1 RPG while making over 50% of his field goals. Franz Wagner is a big man with mobility, and Jae’Sean Tate can score in spurts. Isaac Okoro, Alperen Sengun, and G League Ignite player Dyson Daniels round out the team.

Team Payton is the other team to watch if you are looking to bet on the winner of this event. LaMelo Ball is probably the most talented player on the court after being named NBA Rookie of the Year last season, and Scottie Barnes has the second-lowest odds to win Rookie of the Year this season. Ayo Dosunmu has played big minutes in recent weeks for the Bulls, but Chris Duarte might have to miss this game due to injury. That would hurt given the lack of depth, and there is a step down in talent when looking at Jaden McDaniels, Davion Mitchell, and the G League’s Scoot Henderson.

Although he was one of the worst general managers in NBA history, Isiah Thomas put together a decent team for this event. Team Isiah has a budding superstar in Tyrese Haliburton, and two very good role players in Saddiq Bey and Desmond Bane. Anthony Edwards dropped 37 on Indiana on Sunday, but his status is in doubt for this game after he sprained an ankle in Tuesday night’s win over Charlotte. Precious Achiuwa will be asked to clean up the boards for this team, while Isaiah Stewart and G League Ignite player Jaden Hardy will get more minutes with Edwards’ injury.

Team Worthy looks to be the worst team of the four taking part in the Rising Stars Challenge. Jalen Suggs has had a challenging rookie season, and Jalen Green hasn’t been an efficient shooter in his rookie year. Tyrese Maxey has shown flashes in Philadelphia though, and Cole Anthony is averaging 17.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 5.9 APG for Orlando. Herbert Jones, Josh Giddey, and the G League’s MarJon Beauchamp are the other three players on Team Worthy.

Rising Star Challenge MVPs

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