NBA All-Star weekend is underway at Chase Center, with three members of the Golden State Warriors taking part in the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night.
With a spot in the new NBA All-Star Game format on the line, there was increased competitiveness among the young players hoping to reach Sunday's event. It was ultimately Warrior legend Chris Mullin's team who advanced, with their roster featuring Golden State center Trayce Jackson-Davis alongside a number of first-round picks from last year's draft in Stephon Castle, Zach Edey, Dalton Knecht and Ryan Dunn.
Stephen Curry and Trayce Jackson-Davis will represent the Warriors in the All-Star Game
After falling behind 12-8 in the race to 25 in the final against the G League squad, Team Mullin went on a 17-2 run to claim a comfortable win. Jackson-Davis did not record a single point, rebound or assist, but was a +15 in less than four minutes and drew praise from Mullin in a post-game interview. Castle won the MVP after recording six points, four rebounds and four assists in the final.
Earlier in the night Jackson-Davis faced off against fellow Warrior sophomore Brandin Podziemski in the first game of the night, with both players coming off the bench for their respective teams.
Having played over 39 minutes on the second night of a back-to-back against the Houston Rockets on Thursday, you can forgive Podziemski for being a little tired as the second-year guard recorded two points, two rebounds and three assists on 1-of-4 shooting in 12 minutes of play.
Jackson-Davis, who has been out of the Golden State rotation after starting 37 of the team's first 46 games this season, connected on a couple of dunks on his way to six points on 3-of-4 shooting in eight minutes.
TJD throwin' down on #WarriorsGround
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 15, 2025
We've seen this before 😎 pic.twitter.com/Oe8RDtqH4W
Pat Spencer was also representing the Warriors as part of the G League team who advanced to the final with a thrilling 40-39 victory thanks to a 3-point game-winner from Bryce McGowens. Spencer missed his only shot (from beyond the arc) and finished with two rebounds in just over 10 minutes, before finishing with two points and three rebounds in under four minutes in the final.
Jackson-Davis will now face Curry in the second game on Sunday, with the 2x MVP part of Team Shaq's OG lineup that also features LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard and Boston Celtics duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.