NBA Rising Stars Challenge 2019: Top Contenders, Predictions for MVP Award
The Rising Stars Challenge isn't always a springboard to NBA success, but some of the best to ever play in the Association starred in this spotlight.
Past MVP winners include Penny Hardaway, Allen Iverson, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. While there's a wild-card winner every now and then—looking at you, Daniel Gibson and Kenneth Faried—elites have often looked the part and taken home the trophy because of that.
On the heels of two seemingly loaded drafts, there's no shortage of MVP candidates for this year's showcase of basketball's best up-and-comers. We'll examine two top contenders from each roster then predict who will wear the crown.
2019 MTN DEW ICE Rising Stars
Time: Friday, Feb. 15 at 9 p.m. ET
Place: Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina
TV: TNT
Team U.S.
Jarrett Allen, Brooklyn Nets
Marvin Bagley III, Sacramento Kings
Lonzo Ball, Los Angeles Lakers (injured)
John Collins, Atlanta Hawks
De'Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings
Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies
Kevin Knox, New York Knicks
Kyle Kuzma, Los Angeles Lakers
Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
Team World
OG Anunoby, Toronto Raptors
Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns
Bogdan Bogdanovic, Sacramento Kings
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Los Angeles Clippers
Rodions Kurucs, Brooklyn Nets
Lauri Markkanen, Chicago Bulls
Josh Okogie, Minnesota Timberwolves
Cedi Osman, Cleveland Cavaliers
Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
Top MVP Contenders
Luka Doncic
Doncic could have easily been playing in Sunday's varsity All-Star clash, as the 19-year-old already looks like a franchise talent. He's on pace to join Oscar Robertson as the only rookies to ever average at least 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Doncic's effort is elevating Dallas as a whole.
"I love the fact that he loves carrying the load," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. "He has great belief in himself, and he's one of these dynamic young players that has the charisma to give his teammates confidence."
Doncic can dazzle as a scorer, distributor and shot-creator, meaning he'll have ample opportunity to impress the MVP voters. If he views this as an opportunity to show he should've been a full-fledged All-Star selection, he's talented enough to push his team to victory and himself to the top individual honor.
Jayson Tatum
You never know how much this game will mean to second-year performers, especially those who may have entered their sophomore season with All-Star aspirations. But Tatum might come in feeling there's more to prove than you'd think.
On the one hand, the 20-year-old is the second option on a contender and quite possibly the key to deciding the Anthony Davis sweepstakes. On the other, Tatum is a less efficient shooter than he was as a rookie, and he's been forced out of the starring role he held in last year's postseason by the return of a healthy Kyrie Irving.
With whispers going around that Tatum may want a franchise to himself, he might relish the chance to take control of this team. If he comes out with a neon green light, he could make a run at 40-plus points.
Lauri Markkanen
A lot of the sophomores on these rosters are living something of a charmed life in their second go-rounds. There is a slew of key contributors on really good teams. Or, in the case of John Collins, we're seeing him lift his career ceiling several stories higher than where it was initially set.
It's different for Markkanen. His Bulls are going nowhere, and his game hasn't really taken off the way some might have expected it to. He's been roughly the same player on a per-minute basis, and he's had only modest improvements to his shooting rates.
This could be his best shot to change the narrative of his second season.
He's a tremendous scoring talent from the paint to the perimeter. He's already familiar with this setting, having pumped in 15 points and six rebounds during last year's event. And he's as starved as anyone for the scoring and playmaking support he'll finally have in this game.
Trae Young
This is a perimeter players' game and increasingly an environment catered to guards who can score, snipe and set the table. The last two MVPs—Bogdan Bogdanovic and Jamal Murray—tallied a combined 62 points, 17 assists and 16 threes over their award-winning performances.
Is anyone more likely to have a mind-numbing combination of buckets, dimes and triples than Young?
This time last year, he was college basketball's leader in points and assists, plus someone who averaged nearly four triples a night while regularly launching from Stephen Curry range. Young's creativity, assertiveness and shot-making potential should all play up to the crowd and on to the stat sheet.
Granted, it's almost impossible to tell whether he'll be on or off from one night to the next. But up against mostly disinterested defenders, he's probably right there with Doncic in terms of potential to wow the audience.
Prediction: Doncic Wins MVP
While Team U.S. might have more top-level talent, Team World looks more capable of becoming greater than the sum of its parts. There are plenty of high-level role players on that roster who just need someone to bring them together, and Doncic operates like a human adhesive on the hardwood.
The fact he isn't a face-melting athlete actually adds to his showmanship. Between his step-backs, floaters and two-steps-ahead-of-the-defense deliveries, his skill and savvy are every bit as impressive as a thundering dunk.
Doncic might not lead the game in points, assists, rebounds or threes, but he could rank among the top-three in each category. Look for those stat-sheet-stuffing skills to help him rule the first night of All-Star Weekend.
