THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT 🤩
Congratulations to rookie Chris Duarte on being named a 2022 Rising Star. ¡Felicidades!
đź“°: https://t.co/UKF17tqYk9#GoldBlooded pic.twitter.com/YKRVQWJn1z
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) February 2, 2022
Former Oregon Ducks guard Chris Duarte has been selected to participate in the 2022 Rising Stars game, which will be played as part of NBA All-Star Weekend in Cleveland on Friday, February 18.
Duarte, a member of the Indiana Pacers, was one of 12 rookie players selected by NBA coaches to participate in the game.
Rising Stars has undergone a facelift this year. Instead of rookies vs. sophomores, or separating players by home country, there will be a pool of 12 rookies, 12 second-year players, and four players from the G League Ignite.
Those 28 players will be drafted into four seven-player teams, who will then compete in a mini tournament – with the semifinal games playing to a score of 50.
The two winners will play in the championship, shooting to be the first squad to reach 75 points in honor of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Season.
Duarte got off to a scorching hot start after joining Indiana as the 13th overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. He is now averaging 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 43.2% from the floor and 34.9% from three.
He is sixth in scoring, second in three-pointers made, and third in steals among all the league’s rookies at this point in the season.
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