SAN FRANCISCO — San Antonio Spurs rookie Stephon Castle said the Rising Stars MVP trophy he hoisted Friday night isn’t the only hardware he plans on winning during NBA All-Star Weekend.
Castle led “Team C,” coached by Chris Mullin, over “Team G League,” coached by Jeremy Lin, to a decisive 25-14 win, scoring 11 points and collecting one of his three assists on Utah Jazz rookie Keyonte George’s game-winning 3-pointer.
Team C won its first group game in the round robin-style event with Castle hitting the deciding jump shot to beat “Team T,” coached by Tim Hardaway Sr., 40-34. (In the first two group games, the target score to reach was 40; in the final, the target score was 25).
“To be a part of the game-winning bucket in both, it means a lot,” Castle said.
The Rising Stars game, made up of three teams with seven first- and second-year players, and a fourth team with seven G Leaguers, was the start of a jam-packed itinerary for Castle. The 6-foot-6 guard is also competing in the dunk contest Saturday night.
When asked about what dunks he had planned for the showcase, Castle told ESPN: “I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’ll just say the MVP trophy isn’t the only trophy I’m trying to take home.”
And the Rising Stars win earned Castle’s team a berth in Sunday’s All-Star Game, when they will go against “Shaq’s Ogs,” featuring future Hall of Famers LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
“As a basketball player, it’s really all I can ask for, watching those guys all the time growing up, so to share my first All-Star weekend with them and be able to share the court with them is a blessing,” Castle told ESPN.
Castle will join Blake Griffin as the last players to compete in events on all three nights of All-Star Weekend. Griffin did it in 2011, as a rookie for the LA Clippers.
The All-Star Game will mirror Friday’s format, with four teams of eight players competing in a mini tournament with two semifinal games up to the target score of 40 and the final up to 40, as well. After particularly lackluster All-Star games the last two years, without a whisper of defense or competitive zeal, the league changed things up with the hope of restoring some interest in the February festivities.
“We’re out there with nothing to lose,” Castle told ESPN when asked about his young group’s chances going against the Shaquille O’Neal-coached team, which also has James Harden, Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown on its roster. “We’re out there playing confident, playing free. So, I just wouldn’t count us out.”
Coaching duties for Team C will be handed off from Mullin to Candace Parker for Sunday. Parker, acting as the team’s general manager, selected Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson from “Team M,” coached by Mitch Richmond, to fill the eighth and final roster spot for her team.
Team G League reached the Rising Stars final with an upset of Team M in the second group-play game. Bryce McGowen of the Rip City Remix hit a 3-pointer to clinch the win, 40-39. McGowen’s closing shot was only possible thanks to Ausar Thompson of the Detroit Pistons — Amen’s twin brother — going 0-for-4 from the foul line with his team stuck at 37 points.
Castle and the Team C players earned $35,000 apiece for Friday’s win and will get the chance to earn bragging rights against some of their veteran NBA teammates come Sunday.
Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht, Phoenix Suns rookie Ryan Dunn and Golden State Warriors second-year big man Trayce Jackson-Davis will be lining up against James, Durant and Curry.
“I’m playing against Bron, so I get to go against one of my teammates,” Knecht said. “It’ll be a lot of fun to go out there and try to make a statement.”
When asked if there would be any trash talk exchanged between the 40-year-old James and 23-year-old Knecht, the Lakers rookie quipped back: “I usually don’t start it. I usually don’t start talking. I usually try to finish it.”
Source: espn.com