Indiana Pacers sophomore Bennedict Mathurin on Friday was unanimously named MVP of the 2024 NBA Rising Stars game to lead Team Jalen to the championship in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Mathurin produced 18 points in the opening game as Team Jalen defeated Team Tamika. He had four points, two assists and one steal in a 26-13 win in the final over Team Detlef, which consisted of seven of the top players in the G League.
While Mathurin did the bulk of the scoring in the semifinal round, Dereck Lively II had six points and Jordan Hawkins and Jalen Williams each chipped in five points in the final. Williams drained the game-winning 3-pointer to end it for Team Jalen.
INDY'S OWN.
Bennedict Mathurin takes home the #PaniniRisingStars MVP in his home arena 🙌🏆 pic.twitter.com/u11FZX4WlL
— NBA (@NBA) February 17, 2024
The event featured four seven-player teams competing in a three-game tournament for the third straight year. The two semifinal games were played to a target score of 40, and the championship game was played to a target score of 25.
The pool of players for the game consisted of 11 rookies, 10 second-year players and seven players from the G League. The players from the NBA were selected by assistant coaches and the players from the G League were selected by the league office.
The four teams were coached by Hall of Famer Pau Gasol, Indiana Fever legend Tamika Catchings and former Pacers standouts Jalen Rose and Detlef Schrempf, who led the G League team.
Here is how the teams performed in the event.