The Bay Area is set to host this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend, and before the league’s brightest stars take center stage, the spotlight will shine on the future. That’s right—kicking off the festivities is the Rising Stars Challenge, where some of the most promising rookies and sophomores will battle it out in a thrilling mini-tournament. Scheduled for February 14, this year’s event will feature 28 of the league’s top young talents.

But what truly sets this edition apart is a major twist—the winning team will earn a spot as the fourth team in the NBA All-Star matches on Sunday! With so much at stake, let’s break down everything you need to know about the Rising Stars Challenge, starting with the tournament format and the legendary honorary coaches leading these squads.

How will the Rising Stars Challenge be played? Who are the Coaches?

The NBA Rising Star’s Challenge will showcase incredible talent from a player pool of 28 players. Consisting of 10 NBA rookies, 11 NBA sophomores, and seven of the best NBA G League players, the Chase Center will bear witness to this stellar contest among four star-studded teams. Well, you must be wondering, who are the coaches?

For this year, the teams are based on the legendary Golden State Warriors trio– “Run TMC.” In which the ‘T’ stands for Tim Hardaway Sr., ‘M’ for Mitch Richmond, and ‘C’ for Chris Mullin. That’s a creative way to pay homage to the Bay Area’s very own heroes. Lastly, the G League team will be led by Jeremy Len.

Moreover, the format for the challenge will feature two semi-finals and one final game. On the other hand, the games first to games will be first to reach 40 points, whereas the final will be won by the team who reaches 25 points first.

Game 1: Team C vs. Team T

Game 2: Team G League vs. Team M

Games 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2

The Rising Stars Challenge’s roster

The player selection process for the Rising Stars Challenge began with the coaching staff from each NBA team voting to determine the rookie and sophomore ballots. The only restriction? Coaches couldn’t vote for players from their own teams. Once the ballots were finalized, a draft was held, with NBA legends Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin each selecting their squads. Here’s a look at the rosters they carefully hand-picked!

Team M– Coach: Mitch Richmond 

Richmond’s team will feature the likes of twins Amen and Ausar Thompson. Also, Trail Blazers star Bilal Coulibaly made the team one of the favorites to win this mini-tournament.

‘*’ Injury replacement for Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson.

Team T– Coach: Tim Hardaway Sr. 

Hardaway’s team will feature local talent, with Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski on the roster. Furthermore, they also have two extremely talented players in Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Raptors star Gradey Dick.

‘*’ Injury replacement for Dereck Lively II.

Team C– Coach: Chris Mullin

Spurs’ highly rated rookie Stephon Castle is one of the players to watch from Mullin’s team, along with Lakers’ talented guard Dalton Knecht.

‘*’ Injury replacement for Jared McCain.

Team G League– Coach: Jeremy Len

Lastly, we have the best from the G League, including the two-time slam dunk contest champion Mac McClung, along with JD Davison and more.

Overall, we’re in for a great set of games to determine the winner. It is hard to pick any favorites with the talent so well spread among the four teams, but Team M looks threatening. Moreover, we’ll see some of the best young players in the league compete against each other. Still, unfortunately, some players, such as Jared McCain, Brandon Miller, and Victor Wembanyama (due to the All-Star game), won’t be available. Nonetheless, it will be exciting to see which team books their ticket for the NBA All-Star game on Sunday.