The NBA announced the roster for the 2018 Rising Stars game on Wednesday, and no Toronto Raptors will be participating in that part of the 2018 All-Star Weekend.
This is a little surprising. The Raptors don’t have any one breakout young talent, I suppose, but they have maybe the best collection of young pieces contributing to a winning team in the league right now. Not only is rookie OG Anunoby starting and proving a plus-minus stud, the Raptors’ second unit is among the best in all of basketball and contains exactly one veteran in C.J. Miles. Perhaps the democratic spread of the offense has hurt the individual cases here, whereas some other players are playing larger roles with bigger minutes and stats, maybe just without the contribution to winning.
Fred VanVleet, for example, is averaging seven points and 2.7 assists on slightly below-average scoring efficiency. Even a net rating of plus-9.9 probably isn’t getting you in with those numbers. Anunoby’s net rating is even better at plus-11.8, but he plays a low-usage role and is only averaging 6.1 points. We know defense doesn’t get you noticed much for these events. Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl were both eligible, too, and have played important roles but don’t have stat lines that pop (6.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists for Siakam; 6.8 points on ludicrous efficiency, 4.6 rebounds, 1.1 blocks for Poeltl).
OG Anunoby is 18th in the NBA in +/- at +227. He leads all rookies in +/- and the next best rookie is Jason Tatum at +185. Even with that in mind, Anunoby is left out of the Rising Stars Challenge. #iubb https://t.co/Fe4EAM9unV
— The Hoosier Network (@TheHoosierNet) January 24, 2018
It’s disappointing, though, that the strong bench play isn’t being rewarded here, even if it makes sense based on box score stats. Someone getting the nod as a sort of representative for the entire group would have been cool, and Anunoby at All-Star media day would have been amazing. The Raptors are the league’s most diverse roster, and the U.S. vs World format would have been a nice way to showcase some of that diverse talent, too.
No Raptor has participated in the Rising Stars game since Jonas Valanciunas in 2014, who was the 14th Raptors to have done so in the history of the event.
Here are the rosters for each team, including a pair of Canadians on the World side.
Meet the 2018 Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars competing for the World Team! #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/L9KBKaLbXy
— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 24, 2018
Meet the 2018 Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars competing for the U.S. Team! #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/W8YAqpcEXw
— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 24, 2018
The game’s current format sees a Team USA play a Team World, with both rosters comprised of players in their first two seasons. Prior to 2015, rookies and sophomores were selected by former NBA player coaches to make teams, and prior to 2012 the format was just Rookies vs. Sophomores.
The Rising Stars game takes place on the Friday of All-Star Weekend at 9 p.m., following the Celebrity Game. Saturday night will include a skills challenge, 3-point shootout, and slam dunk contest with participants still to be revealed, and Sunday marks the G League International Challenge (a G League All-Star team against the Mexican national team). Oh, and Sunday evening is the All-Star Game, featuring Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and very likely the Raptors’ coaching staff. Teams will be announced on Thursday.
