Up-and-coming standouts from the basketball world will be featured on Friday evening as part of the NBA's All-Star Weekend festivities in Indianapolis. The 2024 Rising Stars tournament will take place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, featuring four teams and showcasing the NBA's top rookies, sophomores and G League standouts. Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams are all scheduled to participate. The event's four coaches will be Pau Gasol, Tamika Catchings, Jalen Rose and Detlef Schrempf, with three games on the schedule.
The Rising Stars 2024 is set to begin at 9 p.m. ET. Team Pau is the betting favorite to win the mini-tournament at +145 (risk $100 to win $145) in the latest 2024 Rising Stars odds. Team Tamika is +200, Team Jalen is +200 and Team Detlef is listed at +750. Before making any 2024 Rising Stars picks, be sure to check out the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend predictions from SportsLine expert Mike Barner.
A respected NBA Fantasy expert, both season-long and daily, Barner's work has appeared in Sports Illustrated and on Yahoo, RotoWire, and KFFL. He's also been featured on ESPN Radio. Barner digs deep into the data, examining team trends and projecting game outcomes. Barner's expertise has been on full display over a wide sample.
Over the past four seasons at SportsLine, Mike went 462-397 against the spread, returning $2,509 to $100 bettors. He enters the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend on a 15-5 roll on all NBA picks, returning $837 for $100 bettors. He also has an incredible feel for NBA All-Star Weekend. In 2023, Barner nailed his pick on the Rising Stars. Anybody following his picks has seen huge returns.
Now, he has analyzed the 2024 Rising Stars lineups from all angles and just locked in his coveted pick and predictions. He is only sharing his NBA picks and analysis at SportsLine.
2024 Rising Stars format
This is the third straight year in which the Rising Stars event will center on a three-game tournament among four teams with seven players on each squad. NBA G League players will join with rookies and sophomores, and all three of the tournament games will be played to a Final Target Score, rather than over a specific period of time. The first two games will be played to 40, with the final played to 25 to determine the event's champion. See which team to back at SportsLine.
Top 2024 Rising Stars predictions
Barner isn't backing Team Detlef, even at their enticing odds. This team could have an advantage with cohesion, as these players have been on the floor together in practice and game settings all season. In addition, Team Detlef has three potential first round picks in the 2024 NBA Draft. Tyler Smith is averaging 13.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting 39.2% from 3-point range, and he could go in the lottery by June. Ron Holland and Matas Buzelis are widely projected as top-10 picks, with Holland putting up 19.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Buzelis adds versatility and size, and he is averaging 13.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game for G League Ignite in 2023-24.
However, the other three teams feature either NBA rookies and/or sophomores. That places Team Detlef at an inherent disadvantage and outlines why this side is a substantial betting underdog. Five of the seven players from Team Detlef are quite young and from the G League Ignite program, with Ignite averaging 18.3 turnovers per game and shooting only 34.1% from 3-point distance this season. Barner believes that will be too much to overcome and isn't taking a shot on the underdogs in this spot. See more predictions at SportsLine.
How to make 2024 Rising Stars picks
Barner has analyzed the 2024 Rising Stars from all angles and is delivering his picks for SportsLine. His top choice is a team that has all the right ingredients and will be "a tough out." See who it is at SportsLine.
So who wins the 2024 Rising Stars, and which team is built for this tournament? Visit SportsLine right now to get Friday's 2024 Rising Stars pick, all from the SportsLine expert who nailed the 2023 winner in this event, and find out.
