The Rising Stars championship Friday night in Los Angeles to open NBA All-Star Weekend came down to former BYU standout Egor Demin of the Brooklyn Nets versus the Utah Jazz’s Ace Bailey.
In the end, Demin and Team Vince (coached by NBA legend Vince Carter) beat Bailey and Team Melo (coached by another NBA legend, Carmelo Anthony) when Team Vince reached the target score of 25 on a free throw from VJ Edgecombe of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Team Vince and Team Melo matched up in the title game after winning their first games, which each had target scores of 40.
Demin, the eighth pick of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Nets, has been fantastic in his rookie season, as he is averaging 10.8 points, 3.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game while shooting 39.6% from behind the 3-point line after he struggled at that in his lone season at BYU.
Bailey, the fifth pick in the 2025 draft by the Jazz, wasn’t originally selected to play Friday but he was chosen as a replacement for Team Melo when Dallas Mavericks rookie phenom Cooper Flagg — the first pick in the 2025 draft — got injured.
Here are some highlights of Demin and Bailey from Friday night’s action.