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Orlando Magic rookie forward Paolo Banchero and second-year forward Franz Wagner were selected to the player pool for the 2023 Rising Stars Game, the league announced Tuesday.
The Rising Stars Game will be played Feb. 17 at Vivint Arena as part of All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City.
Banchero, the No. 1 pick in last June’s NBA draft, is averaging a team-high 20.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 33.7 minutes (44 games). He leads all rookies in scoring and is second among rookies and second-year players, only behind Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (21.7 points).
Wagner, the No. 8 pick in the 2021 draft, is averaging 19.9 points (49.1% shooting, 37.3% on 3s), 4 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 33.1 minutes (50 games). He’s third in scoring among rookies and second-year players. Wagner was named to the 2021-22 All-Rookie first team. He played in the Rising Stars game last year.
The Rising Stars format, which was altered last season, features four seven-player teams competing in a mini-tournament consisting of three games instead of a single exhibition as in previous years. Each game will be played to a target score.
The pool of 28 players for Rising Stars consists of 11 rookies, 10 second-year NBA players and seven G League players.
The 21 NBA players will be drafted onto three seven-player teams. The G League players will all be on the fourth team.
Former NBA stars Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, Jason Terry and Deron Williams will serve as honorary coaches.
Gasol, Noah and Williams will select their teams through the Rising Stars draft. Terry will coach the G League players.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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