Los Angeles Lakers rookie guard Scotty Pippen Jr. was selected for the 2023 Rising Stars Challenge Roster taking place during the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend.
Pippen has appeared in eight games for the South Bay Lakers, averaging 24.3 points a game on 50.9 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent from beyond the arc. He is also averaging 6.9 assists per game.
It’s another honor during the 2022-23 season for Pippen, who was named the G League Player of the Week back in December.
There were a total of 28 players selected to participate in the event, with 21 of them being NBA sophomores and rookies and the remainder being G League players like Pippen.
Similar to last year’s event, the 2023 Rising Stars Challenge will feature four teams of seven. The 21 sophomores and rookies will be drafted onto three seven-player teams, while the G-League participants will comprise the fourth team.
The three NBA teams will be led by NBA legends Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and Deron Williams while the G-League squad will be coached by Jason Terry.
It’s a wonderful honor for Pippen, who has yet to make much of an impact with the parent team Lakers but is showing his scoring prowess in the G League. Pippen went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft but it’s clear he’s got an NBA skillset that might come in handy sometime down the road.
Pippen becomes the first Lakers player to play in the Rising Stars Challenge since former Lakers Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma made appearances in their sophomore seasons.
Interestingly enough, while it’s good to see Pippen rewarded for his season down in the G League, Austin Reaves was left off the list. Reaves has been sidelined the past few weeks due to a hamstring injury, but his play on both ends of the floor should’ve earned him a nod.
Regardless, it will be fun for fans to get a look at Pippen on the national stage where he’ll be teaming up with some of the best up-and-coming players.
Full list of 2023 Rising Stars Challenge participants
Pippen Jr. joins a talented group of NBA sophomores, rookies and G-Leaguers. The full list of participants for the 2023 Rising Stars Challenge is as follows:
NBA Sophomores: Jose Alvarado, Scottie Barnes, Josh Giddey, Jalen Green, Quentin Grimes, Bones Hyland, Evan Mobley, Trey Murphy III, Alperen Sengun, Franz Wagner
NBA Rookies: Paolo Banchero, Jalen Duren, AJ Griffin, Jaden Ivey, Walker Kessler, Bennedict Mathurin, Keegan Murray, Andrew Nembhard, Jabari Smith Jr., Jeremy Sochan, Jalen Williams
G-League: Sidy Cissoko, Scoot Henderson, Mojave King, Kenneth Lofton Jr., Mac McClung, Leonard Miller, Scotty Pippen Jr.
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