The Cavaliers Best Moments in Rising Stars History

This was the first year in which the Rising Stars game was played at All-Star Weekend. Among the first 16 players was Cavs rookie Chris Mills. Mills was drafted in the first round- twenty-second overall- out of the University of Arizona. He played for the Cavs until 1997 and retired in 2003 with a scoring average of 11.2 points per game. Mills was the second leading scorer on his team, as he added 12 points.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were well represented at the Rising Stars Game in Madison Square Garden. The Cavs sent four players to participate in the game, however three of them played, as Derek Anderson sat out with an injury. That did not stop the other participants from putting on a show. Cleveland’s trio of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Brevin Knight, and Cedric Henderson combined for 33 points. Knight led both squads with eight assists and Big Z was named the MVP of the game with 18 points and seven boards in 24 minutes played.

In back-to-back years, guard Andre Miller represented the Cavs at the Rising Stars Game. In 2000, Miller played a game-high 30 minutes and racked up 18 points, 5 rebounds, and two assists. The next year in Washington DC, Miller was not as effective, hitting just one shot and handing out two assists. The Utah product was on the winning side of both games.

The Cavs sent two rookies to All-Star Weekend in Atlanta in 2003. Dajuan Walker was selected with the sixth overall pick out of Memphis and Carlos Boozer was picked in the second round out of Duke. Both players scored in double figures, as Walked tallied 12 points and Boozer tallied 11. Also on the rookie roster was Drew Gooden, who played for Cleveland from 2005-2008.

This was one of the most stacked line-ups in the Game’s history. The Rookie roster consisted of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Bosh. The Sophomore roster had Manu Ginobili, Yao Ming, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Tayshaun Prince. This was the first season that two Cavaliers played on opposite teams, as Carlos Boozer and James faced off against each other. Boozer finished with 25 points, but James topped that number with a total of 33 points, to go with six assists.

Daniel Gibson introduced himself to the basketball world in June of 2007, as he scored a career-high 31 points in a close-out game against the Pistons to help the Cavs go to The Finals. At All-Star Weekend the next season, he was recognized by being named to the Rising Stars Game. Gibson scored a game-high 33 points on 11-20 from the field. He has the record- which still stands today- of 11 made three pointers in the game. Gibson was named the MVP of the Challenge.

Cleveland’s two prized rookies squared off against each other in the first year of the Team Chuck vs. Team Shaq format. Kyrie Irving was on Team Chuck (Charles Barkley) and Tristan Thompson was on Team Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal). Both Irving (34 points) and Thompson (20 points) lead their respective squads in scoring. Irving added nine assists and went a perfect 8-8 from behind the arc en route to grabbing the MVP.

What a busy year this was for the Cavs at the Rising Stars Game. Four Clevelanders were named: Kyrie Irving, Tyler Zeller, Dion Waiters (who were all on the same team), and Tristan Thompson. The four representatives combined for 79 points, as Waiters, Irving, and Thompson were all over 20 points. The newest Cavalier, Andre Drummond, was with the Detroit Pistons at the time and was also named to the challenge.

Dion Waiters was the lone member of the Cavaliers and got the start for Team Hill and scored a team-high 31 points. Nine of his 31 were scored in a minute-and-a-half span, where Waiters and Tim Hardaway Jr. traded baskets with each other in an entertaining back-and-forth. Andre Drummond was named the MVP of the game with a stat line consisting of 30 points and 25 rebounds. Those 25 rebounds are still the most in game history.

Two current teammates were on the first Team World together, as Matthew Dellavedova and Dante Exum (a rookie with the Utah Jazz at the time), both from Australia, played together in Brooklyn. The two both chipped in with four points as Team World came out on top. Exum would participate in the challenge again in 2017, as he missed the 2016 with injury.

Collin Sexton was named to the game to represent the Cavaliers on the U.S. Team at All-Star Weekend in Chicago. The second year guard from Alabama leads the Cavs in scoring this year, with a mark of 19.8 points per game. He has scored in double figures in 25 consecutive games and is in the top three of scoring average for second year players. Since December 23, Sexton is averaging 22.4 points, a .441 clip from beyond the arc, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game.