2017 Rising Stars Challenge

Wheat Hotchkiss

A strong Pacers contingent has descended upon New Orleans for All-Star Weekend. On each of the next three nights, a Pacers player will take center stage at the NBA's annual showcase.

Tonight, second-year center Myles Turner will take the floor as part of the United States team in the Rising Stars Challenge (9:00 PM ET on TNT), a showcase for the best first and second-year players in the league.

On Saturday, swingman Glenn Robinson III will take his highflying act to primetime in the 2017 Slam Dunk Contest, the grand finale of All-Star Saturday Night (coverage begins at 8:00 PM ET on TNT).

Then on Sunday, Paul George will make his annual appearance in the All-Star Game (8:00 PM on TNT). It will be the fourth All-Star game for the Pacers' star forward, who set a franchise record with 41 points in last year's game in Toronto.

Despite coming off a grueling back-to-back that saw them play on Wednesday night in Cleveland and then again on Thursday night in Indianapolis, all three Pacers All-Star representatives were in New Orleans bright and early on Friday morning for media availability. Below are some highlights from their time with the press.

GRIII Confident He Can Wow the Crowd in Dunk Contest

Glenn Robinson III was a late bloomer. Believe it or not, he didn't dunk for the first time until his sophomore year in high school. His right arm still has a handful of small scars from dunk attempts gone awry as a young teenager.

But just a few years later, Robinson is set to compete in the world's biggest dunk competition, something he said he's been dreaming about since an early age. Robinson's competition includes Magic forward Aaron Gordon — who lost to Zach LaVine in a dunk-off last year, Clippers All-NBA center DeAndre Jordan, and Suns rookie Derrick Jones Jr.

Robinson has spent the past few weeks coming up with a repertoire for Saturday, coming in early or staying late on the TCU Practice Court at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, rehearsing and fine tuning his ideas.

"You've just got to be creative," Robinson said. "Everybody's done everything, so now I think it's about creativity and getting the fans involved."

George, who competed in the Dunk Contest in both 2012 and 2014 has offered plenty of advice to Robinson heading into the competition. One of his best nuggets, according to Robinson, was to make sure he spends ample energy hyping the crowd up before each attempt.

"It's your show," George said he told his teammate. "You get to rock the show, you get to put on a performance for everybody to watch. So I just told him just live in (the moment). Don't be too nervous — I know he will be — but just let everything happen naturally."

Robinson wouldn't reveal any specifics on what he had planned for the competition, but did say that he had six dunks scripted out — two for the opening round, two for the finals, and two more in the event of a dunk-off.

"I've been working on some stuff," Robinson said. "I'll just put (this way) — it will be something that the fans haven't seen before in an NBA dunk contest."

George said he has seen Robinson's script for Saturday and thinks he will keep the fans entertained. George also hinted that he could be making a cameo appearance in one of Robinson's dunks.

"I won't give any insights on what he's doing, but I might be a part of it," George said with a sheepish grin.

Turner also said he is confident in his teammates' ability to put on a show.

"I know he's got what it takes," Turner said. "Guys haven't really seen him on a national level and I think that kind of plays to his (advantage) a bit. He's going to catch a lot of people by surprise."

Robinson did reveal one dunk we won't be seeing on Saturday night. He said he tried to pull off a double between-the-legs dunk while messing around a couple weeks ago, but "it didn't go well," he joked.

Robinson also said he has reached out to LaVine, the two-time defending champion who decided not to enter this year's competition (he couldn't have competed even if he did enter, as he tore his ACL a few days after the field was announced). Robinson spent the majority of his first NBA season with Minnesota in 2014-15 and said he used to compete in impromptu dunk competitions with fellow rookies LaVine and Andrew Wiggins.

It will be hard to top last year's thrilling duel between LaVine and Gordon. The two players each got perfect scores on both of their dunks in the finals and then again on their first attempt in the dunk-off before LaVine won it on his sixth dunk of the night.

Still, Robinson is optimistic that this year's field can put on a similar show.

"In my opinion, this could probably be one of the best dunk competitions that anybody has (seen)," Robinson said. "We've got a lot of great talent, a lot of guys who jump high."

Turner wasn't named to the Rising Stars Challenge roster as a rookie, in large part because he missed 21 games in the first half of the year with a fractured thumb.

Disappointed by last year's omission, Turner made it a personal goal to be invited to the game in his sophomore season. He made it an easy decision for the league's assistant coaches, who vote to pick the Rising Stars rosters.

Still just 20 years old, Turner enters the All-Star break second on the Pacers in scoring at 15.6 points per game and leading the team in rebounding (7.2 per contest). He is third in the entire NBA in blocks, averaging 2.1 per game. He has also demonstrated exceptional range and efficiency shooting the basketball from the center position, with a .518 field goal percentage, .366 3-point percentage, and .800 free throw percentage.

Scouts across the league are well aware on Turner's abilities, but he still isn't quite a known name to some fans outside of Indiana. He's hoping that will change after this weekend.

"To go out here and just put my talents on display on this stage, I think it would be good for the organization and myself," Turner said.

Like Turner, George also was not chosen for the Rising Stars Challenge as a rookie, but he made the team in his second season. A year later, George was an All-Star and has made the team in every season since then except for 2014-15, when he was out with a broken leg.

Turner said he would love for his career to follow a similar trajectory.

"It's a huge goal," Turner said. "My ambitions are set high. I definitely want to be (an All-Star) sometime soon."

Pacers Have Personal Connections to New Orleans

Both George and Turner were happy to hear that the NBA was hosting the All-Star Game in New Orleans again this year (New Orleans previously hosted the event in 2014).

"This is where my mom is from," George said. "She's from Louisiana, Baton Rouge. So this is great, kind of a homecoming for our family.

"It's beautiful. There's so much culture here, so much tradition. Restaurants — the food is great here."

George said a lot of his family is in town for the weekend, including his parents, sisters, and daughter.

Turner doesn't have family from Louisiana, but he grew up in Dallas, an easy day's drive from New Orleans. He ranks the city among his favorite in the NBA to visit.

"Anytime I can get to the South — I love the South, I'm from the South," Turner said. "I love obviously the warm weather this time of year and (there's) some good food and good people as well."

Though he is still too young to visit any of the popular bars on Bourbon Street, Turner does have a must-visit place when in New Orleans: the popular Cafe Du Monde, whose beignets he described as "fire."

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Pacers All-Star Representatives Descend on New Orleans

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INDIANAPOLIS – The National Basketball Association announced Thursday night that Indiana Pacers forward Paul George has been named as an Eastern Conference reserve for the NBA All-Star game, Feb. 19, at New Orleans.

This is George's fourth All-Star recognition, placing him third in team history behind Jermaine O'Neal with six All-Star games and Reggie Miller with five. Eastern Conference coaches voted for the team's reserves.

PHOTO GALLERY: Paul George's 2016-17 Season-to-Date »

"Anytime you get named to the All-Star team, it's a big honor personally but something I share with the entire organization, especially my coaches and teammates," said George. "This never gets old and I'm appreciative of the coaches for selecting me."

George is the Pacers' leading scorer at 22.2 points per game (21st in the NBA), while also averaging six rebounds, 1.73 steals (10th in the NBA) and shooting 92.6 percent from the free throw line (1st in the NBA).

The All-Star game will be televised nationally by TNT.

Below are the rosters for the 2017 All-Star Game:

*denotes starter
#denotes first-time selection

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Paul George Named to All-Star Team as Eastern Conference Reserve

Second-year center Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers was named Wednesday to participate in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge the Friday night of All-Star Weekend, Feb. 17-19, at New Orleans.

"To be voted to play in the Rising Stars game is a great personal honor, but more importantly I'm really excited to represent the Pacers' franchise and my team and coaches, said Turner. "I'm really looking forward to the experience of All-Star weekend to see what it's all about."

PHOTO GALLERY: Myles Turner's 2016-17 Season-to-Date »

Turner is the Pacers' second-leading scorer this season at 15.7 points per game while leading the Pacers in rebounding (7.6 per game) and blocked shots (2.3).

The game will feature first- and second-year NBA players from the United States against first- and second-year NBA players from around the world. Players are selected by a vote of the league’s assistant coaches. The game will be televised nationally by TNT at 9:00 ET.

2017 Rising Stars Challenge

Pacers All-Star Representatives Descend on New Orleans

Paul George Named to All-Star Team as Eastern Conference Reserve

Myles Turner to Play in Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend