NBA All-Star Weekend will begin this Friday, Feb. 16, with what could end up being the most exciting event of the slate: The Rising Stars Tournament.
Four teams featuring some of the league’s premier young talent, including Victor Wembanyama, Paolo Banchero, and Chet Holmgren, will take the floor in a round-robin tournament and compete for the title of Rising Stars champions.
Here’s a look at the latest NBA Rising Stars odds and the best bets to make ahead of the event.
All NBA odds for Rising Stars are current as of Friday, Feb. 16, at 9 a.m. ET.
NBA Rising Stars Odds
- Team Pau (+120)
- Team Tamika (+240)
- Team Jalen (+310)
- Team Detlef (+850)
Team Pau’s roster is headlined by NBA Rookie of the Year favorite Victor Wembanyama, which is a big reason why his group is favored at (+120). However, Team Tamika features All-Star forward Paolo Banchero, and Team Jalen picked up Chet Holmgren.
Team Detlef’s roster is made up entirely of G League players, so his group is expectedly a heavy underdog at (+850).
NBA Rising Stars Rosters
Team Pau — Coached by Pau Gasol
- Bilal Coulibaly, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Brandon Miller, Brandin Podziemski, Jabari Smith Jr., Cason Wallace, Victor Wembanyama
Team Tamika — Coached by Tamika Catchings
- Paolo Banchero, Dyson Daniels (Injured), Jalen Duren, Keyonte George, Scoot Henderson, Jaden Ivey, Keegan Murray, Vince Williams Jr.
Team Jalen — Coached by Jalen Rose
- Jordan Hawkins, Chet Holmgren, Walker Kessler, Dereck Lively II, Bennedict Mathurin, Shaedon Sharpe (Injured), Jeremy Sochan, Jalen Williams
Team Detlef (G League Players) — Coached by Detlef Schrempf
- Izan Almansa, Matas Buzelis, Ron Holland II, Mac McClung, Tyler Smith, Oscar Tshiebwe, Alondes Williams
NBA Rising Stars Best Bet
Team Pau (+120)
FanDuel Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 Unit
Team Pau should have a relatively easy ride to the Rising Stars title game. They’ll go up against Team Detlef’s G League squad in the first round, and they likely won’t pose much of a threat to a team headlined by Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, and Jabari Smith Jr.
Wembanyama gives this squad a significant edge on the defensive end of the floor, which will be essential down the stretch of each game with teams competing to reach a target score. The 20-year-old is already one of the league’s most disruptive defenders, leading the NBA with 3.2 blocks per game.
Team Pau will be tested in the final round, but this group has the talent it needs on both ends of the floor to win it all. Lock them in at (+120) with your NBA bet of the day.
NBA Rising Stars Contenders
Team Tamika (+240)
FanDuel Sportsbook • WAGER: 0.5 Units
Team Tamika should probably have shorter odds than (+240), but it has a much more difficult first-round matchup than Team Pau. Catchings’ roster is the only one to feature an All-Star (Banchero), and Duren, Ivey, and Murray are terrific players.
There’s no guarantee that Team Tamika will defeat Team Jalen in the first round, but this group could make things interesting if they reach the final. I’m down for a half-unit wager.
Check out the rest of our NBA All-Star predictions and best bets:
- NBA Skills Challenge
- NBA 3-Point Contest
- NBA Dunk Contest
- NBA All-Star Game
- NBA All-Star Game Props
- NBA All-Star Game MVP
NBA Rising Stars Format
The NBA Rising Stars Tournament is a round-robin style competition featuring four teams of seven or eight players. Teams were selected via a draft and are made up of first- and second-year players, plus one team of G League players.
Team Jalen will face off with Team Tamika in the first round, which will be played to a target score of 40 points. The winner of that game will advance to the final, where they’ll take on the winner of the other first-round matchup, Team Detlef vs Team Pau.
The final game will be played to a target score of 25 points, with the winning team being crowned Rising Stars champions.
