TIMBERWOLVES’ WIGGINS
AND TOWNS, KNICKS’ PORZINGIS HEADLINE
ROSTERS FOR BBVA COMPASS RISING STARS CHALLENGE
-- Feb. 12 Game Features U.S. vs. World Format
for Second Straight Year --
The Minnesota
Timberwolves’ Andrew Wiggins, last season’s Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, and
teammate Karl-Anthony Towns, who has won two straight Kia NBA Western Conference
Rookie of the Month awards, highlight the list of 20 players selected to play
in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 12 at Air Canada
Centre in Toronto during NBA All-Star 2016.
The New York Knicks’ Kristaps
Porzingis, who has earned two Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards
in a row, joins Wiggins on the World Team.
Minnesota’s Zach LaVine, the dunk champion at NBA All-Star 2015, will
play alongside Towns on the U.S. Team, giving the Timberwolves three players in
the game, all 20 years old.
For the second consecutive
year, the league’s annual showcase of premier young talent will pit 10 first-
and second-year NBA players from the United States against 10 first- and
second-year NBA players from around the world.
TNT will televise the game live at 9 p.m. ET, part of Turner Sports’ 31st
year of All-Star coverage. BBVA Compass
is the Official Bank of the NBA in the U.S. and maintains its role as title
partner for the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge.
The World Team is anchored by
Wiggins, who ranks 15th in the NBA in scoring (20.8 ppg), and
Porzingis, who is third among rookies in scoring (14.0 ppg) and first in blocked
shots (2.0 bpg). In last year’s BBVA
Compass Rising Stars Challenge, Wiggins scored 22 points and earned MVP honors
in the World Team’s 121-112 victory over the U.S. Team.
Wiggins is one of two Toronto-born
players on this year’s World Team roster, along with Dwight Powell of the
Dallas Mavericks. Rounding out the World
Team are Bojan Bogdanovic of the Brooklyn Nets, Clint Capela of the Houston
Rockets, Mario Hezonja of the Orlando Magic, Nikola Jokic and Emmanuel Mudiay
of the Denver Nuggets, Nikola Mirotic of the Chicago Bulls and Raul Neto of the
Utah Jazz.
Towns, the No. 1 overall pick
in NBA Draft 2015 presented by State Farm, is one of three NBA players averaging
at least 16.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks (Anthony Davis and Pau Gasol
are the others). Towns and LaVine are
joined on the U.S. Team by the Philadelphia 76ers’ Jahlil Okafor, who leads all
rookies in scoring (17.4 ppg), and Sixers teammate Nerlens Noel, the only NBA
player averaging at least 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals. The U.S. Team also includes Jordan Clarkson
and D’Angelo Russell of the Los Angeles Lakers, Rodney Hood of the Jazz, Jabari
Parker of the Milwaukee Bucks, Elfrid Payton of the Magic and Marcus Smart of
the Boston Celtics.
The NBA’s assistant coaches
chose the rosters for the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge, selecting four
guards, four frontcourt players and two players at either position for each
team. The coaches also picked a minimum
of three first-year players and three second-year players for each team.
NBA All-Star 2016 in Toronto
will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the
league’s history for a global celebration of the game. Along with the BBVA Compass Rising Stars
Challenge, Air Canada Centre will also host State Farm All-Star Saturday Night
on Saturday, Feb. 13 and the 65th NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb.
14. Other events at NBA All-Star 2016
include the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and the NBA Development League All-Star
Game presented by Kumho Tire. This will
be the first NBA All-Star held outside the U.S.
2016 BBVA Compass Rising Stars
Challenge Rosters
Below are the rosters for the
BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge and a list of previous results:
U.S. TEAM ROSTER
Player Team Pos. Ht. Wt. School Experience
Jordan Clarkson Lakers G 6-5 194 Missouri 1
Rodney Hood Jazz G 6-8 206 Duke 1
Zach LaVine Timberwolves
G 6-5 189 UCLA 1
Nerlens Noel 76ers F/C 6-11 228 Kentucky 1
Jahlil Okafor 76ers C 6-11 275 Duke R
Jabari Parker Bucks F 6-8 250 Duke 1
Elfrid Payton Magic G 6-4 185 UL-Lafayette 1
D’Angelo Russell Lakers G 6-5 195 Ohio State R
Marcus Smart Celtics G 6-4 220 Oklahoma State 1
Karl-Anthony Towns Timberwolves C 7-0 244 Kentucky R
WORLD TEAM ROSTER
Player Team Pos. Ht. Wt. School or Team/Country of Origin Experience
Bojan Bogdanovic Nets G/F 6-8 216 Fenerbahce/Croatia 1
Clint Capela Rockets F/C
6-10 240 Elan Chalon/Switzerland 1
Mario Hezonja Magic G/F
6-8 218 FC Barcelona/Croatia R
Nikola Jokic Nuggets C
6-10 250 KK Mega
Vizura/Serbia R
Nikola Mirotic Bulls F 6-10 220 Real
Madrid/Montenegro 1
Emmanuel Mudiay Nuggets G
6-5 200 Guangdong/Rep.
of Congo R
Raul Neto Jazz G 6-1 179 UCAM
Murcia/Brazil R
Kristaps Porzingis Knicks F/C
7-3 240 Cajasol Sevilla/Latvia R
Dwight Powell Mavericks F/C
6-11 240 Stanford/Canada 1
Andrew Wiggins Timberwolves
G/F 6-8 199 Kansas/Canada 1
BBVA COMPASS RISING
STARS CHALLENGE RESULTS
1994
- Phenoms 74, Sensations 68 2005
- Sophomores 133, Rookies 106
1995
- White 83, Green 79 (OT) 2006
- Sophomores 106, Rookies 96
1996
- East 94, West 92 2007
- Sophomores 155, Rookies 114
1997
- East 96, West 91 2008
- Sophomores 136, Rookies 109
1998
- East 85, West 80 2009
- Sophomores 122, Rookies 116
2000
- Rookies 92, Sophomores 83 (OT) 2010
- Rookies 140, Sophomores 128
2001
- Sophomores 121, Rookies 113 2011
- Rookies 148, Sophomores 140
2002
- Rookies 103, Sophomores 97 2012
- Team Chuck 146, Team Shaq 133
2003
- Sophomores 132, Rookies 112 2013
- Team Chuck 163, Team Shaq 135
2004
- Sophomores 142, Rookies 118 2014
- Team Hill 142, Team Webber 136
2015
- World Team 121, U.S. Team 112
