7 Rising Stars Who Could Be the Next Kobe Bryant or LeBron James

With the NBA's rising stars set to compete tonight in the Rising Stars Challenge, it's time to take a look at which of the the NBA's young stars could become among the NBA's elite players.

Could any of the players competing tonight even reach the level of a Kobe Bryant or LeBron James?

It's possible, given the amount of quality young talent currently in the NBA.

With that being said, let's take a quick look at the best young options to take their game to the next level.

Kyrie Irving

Irving is a logical choice and has as much potential for greatness as any first- or second-year player in the NBA.

He's a natural floor leader with a high basketball IQ.

Offensively there is the ability to extend defenses with the range on his jumper, and he can also get to the rim with either hand.

As a rookie, he's posted solid 18.1 PPG and 5.1 APG averages, and more importantly Irving has the Cavs competing.

Four or five years from now we could be looking at the best point guard in the NBA.

Blake Griffin

Griffin's shown in his year-and-a-half stint in the NBA that he's headed for greatness.

He's already there in some people's eyes.

His pure strength and leaping ability puts him in a class all by himself, and he's only getting better.

As the Clippers continue to get better, they will build around Griffin, who's averaged 22.2 PPG and 11.9 RPG throughout his young career.

During his rookie season, Griffin was the only player in the league to average 22 PPG, 12 RPG and 3 APG.

It's not crazy to think that Griffin could the NBA's most dominant player within a couple of seasons.

Ricky Rubio

Rubio might not be the scorer that most of the elite players in the NBA are, but he doesn't have to be to elevate himself among the NBA's greats.

Since he's been the starter in Minnesota, Rubio is among the NBA's leaders in both assists and steals.

His rookie numbers are pretty solid, averaging 11.3 PPG, 8.4 APG, 4.3 RPG and 2.4 SPG.

What could make him special, though, is his ability to make everyone around him better. Not everyone has that trait, and as the Timberwolves continue to improve, Rubio's stock could go through the roof.

DeMarcus Cousins

If Cousins eventually grows up and focuses completely on basketball, he has the talent to be next to unstoppable.

That's a big if though.

He's strong as a bull in the post, and you can see how much talent this guy really has when his head is on straight.

His averages of 16.2 PPG and 11.3 RPG are outstanding and much improved from his rookie campaign.

He's only going to get better with time. He's gifted enough that the sky could be the limit for him as long as he limits the distractions and the antics.

John Wall

Similar to Cousins, Wall has unlimited ability, but you can't get by on ability alone in the NBA.

He needs to evolve his game into that of a true point guard. There are plenty areas about Wall's game that need to improve, including leadership and shooting.

While it's easy to knock Wall's game, people forget that he's only 21 years old.

Those things will come with time, and if he ever gets a supporting cast around him in Washington, Wall has the talent to become great.

Greg Monroe

Monroe is the wild card of the group.

He's a throwback to talented big men of the past, and his game is starting to come along very nicely.

When you look at improvement from one year to the next, Monroe has improved as much as any second year player in the league.

He's close to averaging a double-double for the season with 16.7 PPG and 9.8 RPG, but he's got the talent and the fundamentals to turn himself into a dominant big man for years to come.

Jeremy Lin

You simply can't knock what he's accomplished in such a short time.

Who knows where his career is going to head?

Could he turn out to be a flop? Absolutely.

But he could also keep learning and keep getting better, which is probably the smarter bet.

There's nothing about him that doesn't suggest that within time he could make himself a great player, and if somehow he could turn the Knicks into a championship team, then that's icing on the cake.

Lin's sample size is much smaller than everyone else on the list, but judging by what he's done so far, he deserves to be on it.

His mistakes are correctable with experience.

Like any other great player, he makes his teammates better, and his basketball IQ is off the charts.

It won't be long before people stop taking him as a one-hit wonder and recognize him as a legit NBA talent.