NBA Rising Stars is usually a fairly low-profile All-Star Event. It lacks the star power of the All-Star Game itself and the history of the Saturday slate of events, so Friday tends to be the least-watched night of the weekend. This year, however, the NBA managed to inject some stakes into the Rising Stars Challenge.

Honorary coaches Tim Hardaway Sr., Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin drafted their respective teams on Feb. 4, each selecting seven players to build their squad. Jeremy Lin will coach the G-League team that will play in the event. Richmond had the first pick where he chose Houston Rockets second-year guard Amen Thompson.