Team Barry wins an exciting Rising Star game

The game was held as a tournament for the first time in honor of the 75th anniversary of the NBA.

As a prelude to the All-Star game, multiple events are a part of the All-Star weekend. Contests like the dunk contest,3 point shooting contest and All-Star celebrity game add a lot of hype and excitement to the event. One of the best events though is the Rising Stars game which is usually a great game leading up to the All-Star game.

For those unfamiliar with the Rising-stars game, it is similar to the All-Star game but consists of rosters filled with young players that are young stars in the making. It is mainly rookie and second-year players that make the team but there are 3rd-year players as well. The game format is usually just one game but in honour of the 75th anniversary of the NBA, the game was held as a tournament.

Advertisement

There were 4 teams were led by 4 members of the 75th-anniversary team. The 4 legends were Isiah Thomas, Gary Payton-The Glove, Rick Barry, and James Worthy-Big game James. The first-round games were won by the first team to get 50 points while the final game between the winners of the first round, were first to 25.

The first match was between Team Isiah and Team Worthy. Team Isiah won the game with 2 free throws from Desmond Bane, 50-49 to advance to the finals. The second match was between Team Payton and Team Barry. Team Barry won the game, 50-48 with an amazing layup from Houston Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate. The forward is the oldest player in the game at 26 years.

Once the first round was over, there was a Clorox Clutch challenge where 8 players (4 teams) would try to recreate iconic shots from players on the 75th-anniversary team. The shots to be recreated were Magic Johnson’s hook shot in game 7, Ray Allen’s shot to take the game to overtime against the Spurs, Charles Barkley’s shot against the spurs at the top of the key, Damian Lillard’s logo 3 against the OKC Thunder and Reggie Miller’s 3 pointers against the Chicago Bulls in 1998. The shot didn’t have to be the same but had to be made from the same spots. The challenge was won by Desmond Bane and Tyrese Haliburton who had teamed up.

After the challenge the finals of the Rising Stars game took place. The game was intense for a rising stars game and both teams played tough defence. The Referees were allowing physical play as well making the game even more exciting. Team Barry came away with the win after some great defence from Jae’Sean Tate and a 3 pointer from Cade Cunningham to put the team up by 4. Franz Wagner hit a free throw to get 25 points and won the game for Team Barry. Cade Cunningham was crowned the Rising Stars MVP.