CLEVELAND – Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton has been named to the U.S. Team for the 2020 NBA Rising Stars at All-Star Weekend in Chicago, the NBA announced today. Sexton joins 19 other Cavaliers players who have previously competed in the Rising Stars since its inception in 1994. His selection marks the second consecutive year a Cavalier will appear in the Rising Stars, with Cedi Osman playing with the World Team at last year’s All-Star Weekend. Sexton will replace injured Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro in the event, which will be played on Friday, Feb. 14 at the United Center.
Sexton (6-1, 192) has played and started in all 53 games with Cleveland this season, averaging a team-best 19.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steal in 32.2 minutes per game. He has the third-highest scoring average among all second-year NBA players, trailing only Trae Young (29.7) and Luka Doncic (28.8), and is the only sophomore with at least 19.0 points, a .450 clip from the field and a .850 mark from the foul line this season. Sexton is also one of just eight NBA players to record 30 points or more and zero turnovers in multiple games this season, including Nov. 10 at New York, where he became the youngest player in league history to score 30-plus points without recording a turnover at Madison Square Garden (20 years, 310 days).
The University of Alabama product has played in every game of his NBA career so far (135 games), the longest streak by a player who started their career with the Cavs since Andre Miller, who played in his first 185 contests (11/2/99 to 12/11/01). Sexton scored his 2,000th career point on Jan. 4 against Oklahoma City, becoming just the third player in Cavaliers history to reach that mark at age 21 or younger (LeBron James and Kyrie Irving). Sexton also leads all sophomores with 123 career double-digit scoring efforts. He has scored at least 20 points in 25 outings this season, including 20 times in the last 29 contests. Since December 23, Sexton has the seventh-highest scoring average in the Eastern Conference at 22.4 points per game.
The 26th Rising Stars will pit 10 first- and second-year NBA players from the United States against 10 first- and second-year NBA players from around the world in the league’s annual showcase of premier young talent during NBA All-Star. Rising Stars will air live at 9 p.m. ET on TNT and ESPN Radio in the United States.