Who will succeed Team Pau Gasol, winner last year against Team Joakim Noah (25-20) in the Rising Stars Challenge? Response during the night of Friday February 16 to Saturday February 17. The competition resumes in the middle of February during the NBA All Star Weekend.
This year, the meeting of young talents from the American Leagues, which brings together rookies (beginners in the NBA), sophomores (players who are in their second year in the NBA) and young people from the G-League (football league). development) will be particularly scrutinized by basketball France.
Wembanyama and Coulibaly under the orders of Pau Gasol
Two French players have in fact been selected to play in the tournament: the phenomenon Victor Wembanyama, drafted in first position with the San Antonio Spurs, and the Washington Wizards player Bilal Coulibaly. The two former players of Métropolitains 92 are already guaranteed to be in the same team, the one led by Spaniard Pau Gasol.
This Rising Stars Challenges will allow the two players to cross swords with certain NBA opponents, such as the American Chet Holmgren, competing with Wemby for the title of Rookie of the Year, or the American-Italian from Orlando Paolo Banchero , rookie of last year. These players will be brought together in three other teams, under the orders of Tamika Catchings, Jalen Rose and Detlef Schrempf.
Note that this is not the classic format of NBA matches which prevails in this mid-season tournament. The semi-finals will take place to the best of 40 points. For the final, the first team to reach 25 points wins.
It remains to be seen whether Pau Gasol and the two Frenchmen will manage to dominate their international opponents and win the competition.
The Rising Stars Challenge will begin and be followed on Saturday February 17 at 3 a.m. on beIN Sports 1.
