Ex-Cajun Payton named a Rising Star again

The Jazz are one of six teams to have multiple players selected to the event, and one of just three teams to have players chosen for both the USA and World teams.

For the second consecutive year, the league’s annual showcase of premier young talent will pit 10 first- and second-year National Basketball Association players from the United States against 10 first- and second-year National Basketball Association players from around the world.

The Rising Stars Challenge is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 12 in Toronto.

Porzingis, a 2.21m center, leads all National Basketball Association rookies in blocked shots with 2.0 a game and ranks third among rookie scorers at 14.0 points a game.

Last season Jusuf Nurkic opted out of the NBA’s Rising Stars Challenge to return home to Bosnia over All-Star weekend in NY.

Payton, who represented the Magic alongside Victor Oladipo in the 2015 Rising Stars Challenge, is posting per-game averages of 11.2 points and 5.9 assists.

The World team consists of guards Bojan Bogdanovic (Nets), Mario Hezonja (Magic), Emmanuel Mudiay (Nuggets), Raul Neto (Jazz) and Andrew Wiggins (Timberwolves) and posts Clint Capela (Rockets), Nikola Jokic (Nuggets), Nikola Mirotic (Bulls), Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks), and Dwight Powell (Mavericks). The NBA’s assistant coaches chose the rosters for the game, selecting four guards, four frontcourt players and two players at either position for each team. He’ll be paired up with nine other players on the “World” team which will face ten of the best American-born players.

NBA All-Star 2016 in Toronto will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game.

Okafor, for whom the Pistons host tonight at The Palace of Auburn Hills (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit), is leading all rookies with 17.4 points per game while Towns (16.1 ppg, second) leads in rebounding at 9.4. He’s averaging 12 points per game this year and won the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest last season.