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The Rising Stars Challenge lineups again pits the U.S. against international players

Kelly Dwyer
Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns are ready for their in-game, three-point shootout. (Getty Images)
Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns are ready for their in-game, three-point shootout. (Getty Images)

What was once a sometimes-compelling game between (what was once) a deeper reserve of first year players continues to morph into something altogether more interesting and accessible for the world and elsewhere. The NBA released the participants for this season’s Rising Stars Challenge on Wednesday, featuring a litany of young potential future stars divided by international waters and, by the time they get to New Orleans, a half court line.

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The Challenge, which began in 1994 as a contest between Eastern and Western rookies before evolving into a Rookies vs. Sophomores contest in 2000 (after the 1998-99 lockout canceled the 1999 All-Star weekend) will once again pit stateside talents versus international up and comers.

Here are this year’s participants for the exhibition, which will take place on Feb. 17 in New Orleans:

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Leading the way for the U.S. Team Roster, filled with first and second year players, is Minnesota Timberwolves phenom Karl-Anthony Towns. Likely an All-Star were it not for his defensive shortcomings and Minnesota’s underwhelming first two months of the season, Towns averages 22.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, three assists and a block and a half per game.

He’ll be joined by fellow sophomore Devin Booker, a 20.6-point scorer himself who missed last season’s game due to a slow start to his professional career at age 18. Despite just three rookies from the 2016 draft taking part, youth will be served on the USA Roster as 23-year old Charlotte Hornets big man Frank Kaminsky will rank as the oldest member of the squad to actually be drafted by an NBA team. Undrafted Spurs swingman Jonathan Simmons, who had previously bounced around in the D-League, will line up at a rather hearty 27 years of age.

The World Team Roster is just as green, in terms of NBA wrinkles, but the team’s international experience will leave them in good standing as it attempts to take its second Rising Stars Challenge title over the US in two tries.

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New York and Philadelphia franchise studs Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia) and Joel Embiid (Cameroon) highlight the international lineup, with Embiid still working (as of Wednesday afternoon) with an outside chance of making the All-Star team in his rookie year with those 20-point, eight-rebounds, 2.4-block averages in only 25 minutes of play. Porzingis has missed time of late with Achilles woes, but the big fella still averages 19 points, seven rebounds and nearly two blocks in 33.7 minutes of play for the Knicks.

Despite what looked like limited 2016-17 prospects for a 2016 draft that was typically high on upside and little else in terms of immediate impact, four other rookies besides Embiid (drafted in 2014) will join the World Team Roster.

December’s Western Conference rookie of the month Jamal Murray (from Canada) will represent his Denver Nuggets as what could be Denver’s lone participant for the All-Star weekend, while New Orleans’ Buddy Hield (Bahamas) rounds out the roster alongside fellow likely All-Rookie participants Dario Saric (from the 76ers, and Croatia originally) and Domantas Sabonis (Oklahoma City, Lithuania, and the sturdy loins of Basketball Hall of Famer Arvydas Sabonis).

Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Zach LaVine, at just 21 years of age, will miss this year’s contest due to his status as a third-year NBA player, so he won’t be able to defend his MVP run from last year’s Team USA win. This is the way of the play for the NBA in 2017, when someone who only recently earned the legal ability to buy a sugary cocktail in New Orleans is still too old to take part in the league’s talent showcase.

With this ideal agreed-upon and understood, it doesn’t take away from the depth and potential on hand. Even if only a portion of that, in a typically defense-averse game, will be on display in NOLA next month.

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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!