Rising Stars Draft: OKC Thunder Youngsters Land on Separate Teams
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The OKC Thunder will have three representatives at the 2024 Panini NBA Rising Stars Challenge: Cason Wallace, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams.
The Rising Stars Challenge will feature a draft of three basketball legends for the second straight year. Those three teams will face off in a tournament to eventually crown a champion.
The 21-player pool consists of the top Rookies and Sophomores, as Jalen Rose, Pau Gasol, and Tamika Catchings will draft and coach the squads. The G League team will be headed up by Detief Schrempf with a roster already set below.
On Tuesday, Rose, Gasol, and Catchings live-streamed their Rising Stars Draft, hosted by Jared Greenberg, on the NBA App.
It did not take long for an Oklahoma City Thunder player to come off the board, as rookie Chet Holmgren was selected 3rd overall to Team Jalen Rose behind just Victor Wembanyama (1st, Gasol) and Paolo Banchero (2nd, Catchings). In the Snake draft, Rose used the 4th selection on Holmgren's Thunder teammate Jalen Williams.
Cason Wallace was the third and final Thunder player taken off the board, going 18th overall to Team Gasol. This will separate the Thunder youngsters and make for an interesting tournament for OKC Thunder fans. Wallace joins Pau Gasol, who crafted and coached the winning team during the 2023 event.
The Panini Rising Stars Challenge will take place on Friday, Feb. 16th, 2024 on TNT.
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