On Tuesday, the NBA announced the 28 players who have earned spots to compete in the 2024 Panini Rising Stars challenge. The event will take place on Friday, Feb. 16, at Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse as an official part of the league’s 2024 All-Star Weekend.
The annual showcase of young talent, featuring a mini-tournament with four teams and three games, airs live at 8 p.m. Central on TNT.
In selecting players for the Rising Stars event, each NBA team submitted one ballot per coaching staff. Each coaching staff selected four frontcourt players, four guards, and two additional players at either position, in order of preference, for rookies and sophomores. Coaches were not permitted to vote for any player on their team.
The NBA participants were determined by the total points each player received from the ballots. Points were awarded based on where a player was ranked on each ballot. The player pool includes one more rookie than sophomore based on total points received.
For the Houston Rockets, Jabari Smith Jr. is the lone representative. Fellow second-year forward Tari Eason likely would have joined Smith, but he’s been out due to a leg injury for the past month and has missed approximately half of Houston’s 2023-24 season to date.
A 6-foot-11, 220-pound forward, Smith is averaging 13.8 points (47.8% FG, 38.3% on 3-pointers) and 8.7 rebounds per game this season. He’s also one of Houston’s most valuable defensive players. Smith and Eason were both on the rookie Rising Stars roster last season, while Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun were in the sophomore group.
As for 2023-24, rookies Cam Whitmore and Amen Thompson have played very well in recent games, but neither was among the 11 rookies selected. Thompson missed most of Houston’s first six weeks of the season with an ankle injury, while Whitmore didn’t consistently join Houston’s rotation until approximately mid-January.
Thus, their surge may have come a bit too late for it to be properly accounted for in voting conducted by opposing coaches.
Unlike the previous two seasons, the 2023-24 Rockets (22-24) are much more competitive, which has also made it more difficult for rookies to earn consistent playing time to put up gaudy statistics.
Read on for the full rosters, teams, and more details on the format, as well as key numbers on Smith’s sophomore season in Houston.