Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler will be sharing the floor with projected top-five draft pick Scoot Henderson and some of the NBA’s best rookies and sophomores during All-Star Weekend.
Kessler accepted an invitation to the Rising Stars game, which will be played on Friday, Feb. 17 at Vivint Arena. He is the first Jazzman to officially accept an invite for Utah’s 2023 All-Star Weekend.
The 7-foot rookie is averaging 7.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2 blocks this season.
Some key participants in Rising Stars are 2022 No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year frontrunner Palo Banchero (Orlando Magic), Jaden Ivey (Detroit Pistons), Bennedict Mathurin (Indiana Pacers), Jose Alvarado (New Orleans Pelicans), Scottie Barnes (Toronto Raptors), Jalen Green (Houston Rockets) and Scoot Henderson (G League Ignite).
Jazz assistant coach Jason Terry will coach the G League Team and former Jazz guard Deron Williams will coach a team. The final two coaches will be Los Angeles Lakers legend Pau Gasol and former Chicago Bulls star Joakim Noah.
The Rising Stars event will be played in a tournament format, with four teams of seven players each. There will be three games — Team A vs. Team B, Team C vs. Team D and then the championship game between the winner of the two games.
The semifinal games will be played to a 40-point target score, and the championship game will be played to a 25-point target score.
One team will feature G League Players, but the other three teams will feature the NBA rookies and sophomores. The NBA players will be drafted to a team.
Here is the complete list of Rising Stars participants, per the NBA.
Rookies:
- Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
- Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons
- AJ Griffin, Atlanta Hawks
- Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons
- Walker Kessler, Utah Jazz
- Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers
- Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings
- Andrew Nembhard, Indiana Pacers
- Jabari Smith Jr., Houston Rockets
- Jeremy Sochan, San Antonio Spurs
- Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
Sophomores:
- Jose Alvarado, New Orleans Pelicans
- Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors
- Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder
- Jalen Green, Houston Rockets
- Quentin Grimes, New York Knicks
- Bones Hyland, Denver Nuggets
- Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
- Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans
- Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
- Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic
G League:
- Sidy Cissoko, G League Ignite
- Scoot Henderson, G League Ignite
- Mojave King, G League Ignite
- Kenneth Lofton Jr., Memphis Hustle
- Mac McClung, Deleware Blue Coats
- Leonard Miller, G League Ignite
- Scotty Pippen Jr., South Bay Lakers