With All-Star Weekend coming up, the NBA recently announced the player pool for the Rising Stars team. Among that list is Maine Celtics guard, JD Davison, who is having another outstanding season. JD is one of seven G-League players to be selected for the team with the total player pool amounting to 28 players.
Davison has been one of the top players in the G-League this year, currently 7th in PPG at 22.7, 9th in APG at 7.1, and 22nd in efficiency over the regular season. He also averages 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals. JD is in his final year of two-way eligibility, currently under contract with the Boston Celtics. His selection to the Rising Stars team provides him with an amazing opportunity to showcase his talents to the rest of the league, while also showing he can compete with NBA-level talent.
Adam Silver is trying out a new format for the Rising Stars showcase this year, featuring a mini-tournament between four teams across three games. The team who comes out on top will then get a chance to compete in the new All-Star game format which the NBA is premiering this year. In the All-Star tournament, there will be four total teams again, three of them comprised of the pool of NBA All-Stars. The fourth and final team slot will be taken by the champion of the Rising Stars tournament. The four teams will then compete in another mini-tournament to determine the winner.
With the new formats, Davison will get a chance to compete against some of the premier players the NBA has to offer. He could be potentially playing with or against guys like Victor Wembanyama, Amen Thompson, Scoot Henderson, Stephon Castle, Zach Edey, and many more. If his team manages to win the Rising Stars tournament, he could even earn the chance to compete against his Boston teammate(s).
Jayson Tatum has already been selected as an All-Star starter, and Jaylen Brown has a good chance to be selected as a reserve, though those selections haven’t been announced yet. It’s undoubtedly a very special moment, and to make it all the sweeter, this will all be done on the national stage. With all of the complaints that the NBA has gotten about their new formatting, I will say that it is very special for guys like JD to earn potentially career altering opportunities like this as they try to grow their basketball careers.
