It’s a once-in-a–lifetime opportunity and I just want to go out there and have fun. – Utah Jazz rookie Trey Lyles
TORONTO — While their teammates head elsewhere — to be with their kids, as Derrick Favors looked forward to, and/or to relax in the warm sun, as Gordon Hayward planned on — three Utah Jazz players will represent the organization during All-Star Weekend in The Great White North.
Hayward has some advice for them, which, by the way, easily could have been “Dress warm because the Canadian winter forecast calls for negative temps with the bitter wind chill.”
Instead of rubbing it in, Hayward’s suggestion for Rodney Hood, Raul Neto and Trey Lyles was simply, “Have fun.”
Their fun event takes place Friday night when Hood (Mississippi) and his Team USA take on Neto (Brazil), Lyles (Canada) and Team World in the Rising Stars Challenge. The game will be televised live on TNT from the Air Canada Centre.
“Live it up,” Hayward added. “You can only do that (once or) twice. Just have fun with it.”
The three Jazz players had fun leading up to the annual rookie-sophomore game, as both Neto and Lyles exchanged some trash-talk with Hood about taking him on one-on-one in the game.
All three are honored to have been selected by the NBA (assistant coaches voted them on), and they join a long line of Jazz players who have played in the exhibition of the league’s brightest young up-and-comers.
“It’s a huge accomplishment for me,” said Neto, whose Brazilian father will travel to Canada for the game. “I’ve been working hard since I got here (in the NBA). To get to that game means a lot to me.”
Hood, who’ll be one of the players outsiders want to see most after his recent stellar play, said he tried to not think about the game too much while the Jazz were in the midst of their seven-game winning streak.
“Everybody who I talked to said it will be an exciting time going up there,” Hood said. “It’s a big accomplishment. Just enjoy (it).”
Lyles was the first alternate selected after Bulls power forward Nikola Mirotic withdrew from the competition because of an injury. He had planned on returning home to Indiana — where he moved from Canada when he was 7 years old — to visit family and friends. Instead, his parents will come up to watch him and then he’ll return to the Hoosier State for a couple of days after All-Star Weekend.
His mindset?
“Just enjoy being a part of the All-Star Weekend,” said Lyles, who looks forward to watching childhood hero Kobe Bryant play in his final All-Star Game. “It’s a once-in-a–lifetime opportunity and I just want to go out there and have fun.”
Lyles will have a lot of friends playing in the game aside form his Jazz teammates. His Kentucky teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Suns rookie Devin Booker, added to the game on Thursday to replace Nerlens Noel, will also be in the contest.
“It’s unique that we’ve got three guys that came out with us that are participating in the weekend,” said Lyles of the Kentucky contingent, which included six Wildcats getting drafted by NBA teams last June. “It’s going to be a fun time, I think.”
The Jazz are one of two teams (Minnesota’s the other) with three Rising Stars. Two Dallas reporters joked at separate times on Tuesday something to the effect of, “Utah’s whole roster is full of rising stars.”
In a sense that’s true. The Jazz have multiple players who have taken part in this game, including Hayward and Derrick Favors (2012), Trey Burke (2014, 15), Dante Exum (2015) and Rudy Gobert (2015). Overall, Utah has had 13 players in the Rising Stars Challenge, including three-time All-Star Paul Millsap (2007, 08).
Jimmer Fredette is the only other player with a direct Utah connection who will participate in the weekend’s events in Toronto. The former BYU star will participate in the D-League All-Star Game and 3-point contest on Saturday.
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