February 1, 2022
NEW ORLEANS – The NBA announced today that Pelicans rookie Herbert Jones has been selected to participate in the 2022 All-Star Clorox Rising Stars, which will be held on Feb. 18th at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland as part of NBA All-Star 2022. The event will be televised on TNT at 8 p.m. CT.
Jones, 6, 205, who was selected 35th overall by New Orleans in the 2021 NBA Draft, is averaging 9.3 points while shooting .352 from three-point range, 3.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.5 steals. Among all rookies, Jones ranks in the top five in total steals (1st, 70), steals per game (1st, 1.5), blocks (2nd, 44), blocks per game (2nd, 0.9), field goal percentage (5th, .484), and three-point percentage (5th, .352).
Among all NBA players, Jones ranks fourth with 147 deflections and ninth with 70 steals. Jones is one of only three players to lead his team in both total steals and blocks this season.
The 2022 All-Star Clorox Rising Stars will feature an updated, mini-tournament format including three games between four teams of rookies, sophomores, and — for the first time — players from NBA G League Ignite in the league’s annual showcase of premier young talent during NBA All-Star weekend.
The pool of 28 players — consisting of 12 NBA rookies and 12 NBA sophomores, plus four NBA G League Ignite players — will be broken down into four teams.
Each game will be played to a Final Target Score, meaning that a game will end with a made basket or a made free throw instead of with the clock running out. It will be a “Race to 75” to celebrate the league’s 75th anniversary season — Games 1 and 2 will be played until a team reaches 50 points; Game 3 will be played until a team reaches 25 points.
Jones becomes the seventh player in New Orleans franchise history to participate in the Rookie Challenge/Rising Stars Game, joining Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, Buddy Hield, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Nicolò Melli, and Zion Williamson.