Castrol Rising Stars Project Summary
Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter recap their picks for the 2026 Castrol Rising Stars.
THE Castrol Rising Stars 2026 were written to three teams with Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg, Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel and Philadelphia 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe selected in the first round by honorary coaches Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter.
The three teams of the NBA’s top rookies and sophomores will face off against a G League team in a mini-tournament on Friday, Feb. 13 (9 ET, Peacock) at the LA Clippers’ Intuit Dome as part of NBA All-Stars 2026.
The results of the project can be viewed below. Austin Rivers will be the honorary player coach of the NBA G League.
The Mélo team
- Cooper Flagg (Dallas Mavericks)
- Reed Sheppard (Houston Rockets)
- Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs)
- Dylan Harper (San Antonio Spurs)
- Jeremiah fears (New Orleans Pelicans)
- Donovan Clingan (Portland Trail Blazers)
- Colin Murray Boyles (Toronto Raptors)
Team T-Mac
- Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Frelons)
- Kel’el Ware (Miami Heat)
- Tre Johnson (Washington Wizards)
- Alex Sarr (Washington Wizards)
- Ajay Mitchell (Oklahoma City Thunder)
- Jaylon Tyson (Cleveland Cavaliers)
- Cam Spencer (Memphis Grizzlies)
The Vince team
- VJ Edgecombe (Philadelphia 76ers)
- Derik Queen (New Orleans Pelicans)
- Kyshawn George (Washington Wizards)
- Matas Buzelis (Chicago Bulls)
- Egor Dёmin (Brooklyn Nets)
- Cedric Loose (Memphis Grizzlies)
- Jaylen Wells (Memphis Grizzlies)
Complete results
- Cooper Flagg (Team Melo)
- Kon Knueppel (T-Mac Team)
- VJ Edgecombe (Team Vince)
- Derik Queen (Team Vince)
- Kel’el Ware (T-Mac Team)
- Reed Sheppard (Team Melo)
- Stephon Castle (Team Melo)
- Tre Johnson (T-Mac Team)
- Kyshawn George (Team Vince)
- Matas Buzelis (Team Vince)
- Alex Sarr (T-Mac Team)
- Dylan Harper (Team Melo)
- Jeremiah fears (Team Melo)
- Ajay Mitchell (T-Mac Team)
- Egor Dёmin (Team Vince)
- Cedric Loose (Team Vince)
- Jaylon Tyson (T-Mac Team)
- Donovan Clingan (Team Melo)
- Colin Murray Boyles (Team Melo)
- Cam Spencer (T-Mac Team)
- Jaylen Wells (Team Vince)
Former NBA player and current NBC/Peacock analyst Austin Rivers will coach the G League’s Rising Stars.
Team Austin
- Sean East II (Salt Lake City Stars)
- Ron Harper Jr. (Maine Celtics)
- David Jones Garcia (Austin Spurs)
- Yanic Konan Niederhäuser (San Diego Clippers)
- Alijah Martin (Raptors 905)
- Tristen Newton (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
- Yang Hansen (Rip City Remix)
How it works
In the Castrol Rising Stars mini-tournament, team A will face team B in the first semi-final (game 1) and team C will face team D in the second semi-final (game 2). The winner of Game 1 will meet the winner of Game 2 in the championship (Game 3).
For each semi-final match, the winner will be the first team to reach or exceed 40 points. For the championship match, the winner will be the first team to reach or exceed 25 points.
How the players were selected
NBA assistant coaches determined the 21-player NBA field, with each team submitting one ballot. Voters ranked 10 rookies and 10 sophomores, with more points awarded to higher rankings. The top 10 rookies and top 10 sophomores by total points earned spots. The final place was awarded to the player with the highest score among the 11th-classified graduates in each class. The pool includes one more sophomore than one freshman based on total points received.
The coaches
Hall of Fame players Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady will join Austin Rivers as four honorary coaches selected for the Castrol Rising Stars mini-tournament.
An assistant coach from the NBA All-Star Game coaching staff will be named head coach of each of the four Castrol Rising Stars teams, working alongside the honorary coaches.
