Former NBL Next Stars to Shine at NBA All-Star Weekend

Former NBL players Josh Giddey and Mojave King are set to shine at the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend after being named in the Jordan Rising Stars game.

Giddey has been selected in the sophomores squad and King will play with the NBA G-League team. Those two squads, along with the NBA rookies, will play a three-game mini-tournament on Saturday, February 18.

While playing with the Adelaide 36ers in the 2020/21 NBL season, Giddey averaged 10.9 points, 7.5 assists, 7.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game, being crowned the Rookie of the Year in 2021. It will be his second appearance in the Rising Stars game.

Giddey’s performances with the 36ers saw his NBA draft stock skyrocket and he was selected with the sixth pick in the 2021 draft with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 20-year-old has burst onto the NBA scene, making the All-Rookie Second Team last year and becoming a vital piece to a rising Thunder squad.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The NBA announced today the 28 players who have earned spots to compete in the 2023 Jordan Rising Stars.<br><br>The player pool consists of 11 NBA rookies, 10 second-year NBA players and seven NBA G League players. <a href="https://t.co/hxlHTYd0OT">pic.twitter.com/hxlHTYd0OT</a></p>&mdash; NBA Communications (@NBAPR) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAPR/status/1620504697236000768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

King was part of the Next Stars program and played for the Cairns Taipans in the 20/21 season before joining Adelaide for the 21/22 campaign.

He has since joined the NBA G-League Ignite team, and is averaging 9.1 points per game this season.

The 28 players set to participate in the Jordan Rising Stars include 11 NBA rookies, 10 NBA sophomores and seven NBA G-League players.

The 21 NBA players, selected by NBA assistant coaches, will be drafted onto three seven-player teams. The seven NBA G League players, selected by the NBA league office, will comprise the fourth team.

Click here for more info on the event.