DENVER, Jan. 24, 2018 – The NBA announced today that second-year Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (Canada) has been selected for the World Team for the Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 16 at Staples Center in Los Angeles during NBA All-Star 2018.
This will be Murray’s second straight year appearing for the World Team as he was named the 2017 BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge MVP after posting a game-high 36 points (9-14 3FG) and a game-high 11 assists in a 150-141 Team World victory.
Murray, 20, has appeared in 46 games (all starts) for Denver this season, averaging 16.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 29.8 minutes per game. Among second year players Murray ranks second in scoring per game (16.2), second in total field goals (269), second in total three point makes (87) and ninth in assists per game (2.7). He also ranks third in the NBA in free throw shooting percentage at 92.4%.
The second-year guard has posted 20+ points 17 times and 30+ points six times, both the most among all players under 21. He recently posted a career-high 38 points (14-19 FG) to go with five boards and six assists vs. Portland on 1/22, just one game after tallying 30 points, five rebounds and two assists vs. Phoenix on 1/19. He now joins Anthony Davis, Karl Anthony-Towns, Damian Lillard, Joel Embiid, Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant and LeBron James as the only first or second-year players since 2001 to post 30+ points, 5+ rebounds and 2+ assists in back-to-back games.
For the fourth consecutive year, the league’s annual showcase of premier young talent during NBA All-Star will pit 10 first- and second-year NBA players from the U.S. against 10 first- and second-year NBA players from around the world. The 24th Rising Stars is the first with Mtn Dew Kickstart as title partner, with the brand expanding the event into a yearlong platform showcasing up-and-coming NBA players. Tickets for the Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars and the Rising Stars Practice at Verizon Up Arena at the Los Angeles Convention Center on the morning of the game are available at NBATickets.com.
Joining Murray is Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid (Cameroon), Ben Simmons (Australia) and Dario Saric (Croatia), the Sacramento Kings’ Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia) and Buddy Hield (Bahamas), the Memphis Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks (Canada), the Chicago Bulls’ Lauri Markkanen (Finland), the New York Knicks’ Frank Ntilikina (France) and the Indiana Pacers’ Domantas Sabonis (Lithuania).
The U.S. Team features reigning Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon of the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma, the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, the Atlanta Hawks’ John Collins, the Bulls’ Kris Dunn, the Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell and the Dallas Mavericks’ Dennis Smith Jr.
The NBA’s assistant coaches chose the rosters for the Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars, with each of the league’s 30 teams submitting one ballot per coaching staff. Coaches selected four guards, four frontcourt players and two players at either position group for each team. They also picked a minimum of three first-year NBA players and three second-year NBA players for each team.
The head coaches for the Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars will be the lead assistant coaches from the 2018 NBA All-Star Game coaching staffs. The All-Star coaching staffs are determined by the best record in each conference through games played on Sunday, Feb. 4 among teams with eligible head coaches. Boston head coach Brad Stevens and Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr are ineligible to coach in the NBA All-Star Game because they did so last year.
NBA opening-night rosters for the 2017-18 season featured 108 international players from a record 42 countries and territories. This marked the fourth consecutive season that opening-night rosters included at least 100 international players and that all 30 teams had at least one international player.
Below are the rosters for the 2018 Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars and a list of past results.
