One of the exciting events for All-Star Weekend is the Rising Stars Challenge, where rookie and second-year players face off to showcase some of the best young talent in the NBA.

However, this season, there is a new wrinkle. The winner of the four-team tournament in the Rising Stars Challenge will get to participate in the NBA All-Star Game on Saturday as the fourth and final team in that tournament. 

For the Rising Stars challenge, the teams are based on the Golden State Warriors legendary “Run TMC” trio of Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin. 

The rookies and sophomores have been split into three teams, and there is also a G League team to round out the tournament. 

Here’s a look at the tournament format: 

Each game will go to 25 points, with the first team to reach that total being declared the winner. 

Here’s a full breakdown of the odds, players participating and my prediction for the 2025 Rising Stars Challenge. 

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

In the first round of games in this tournament, Team Chris is a two-point favorite against Team Tim while Team Mitch is a five-point favorite against Team G League (coached by Jeremy Lin). 

Team T (Tim Hardaway)

Team M (Mitch Richmond) 

Team C (Chris Mullin)

Team G League 

There is a ton of talent across all of the rosters in the Rising Stars Challenge, including No. 3 overall pick Reed Sheppard on the G League squad.

Despite that, I still think there is a clear favorite here in Team Mitch. The Thompson Twins (Amen and Ausar) have both come on strong over the last month, and one could make the argument that Amen Thompson is the best player participating in this tournament.

There should be a ton of motivation from all of the squads, as the winner gets to be a part of the four-team All-Star Game tournament on Sunday. 

Analyzing these games are tough since they have elam endings and the player motivation is a tricky thing to predict, but the Thompson Twins, Scoot Henderson and Bilal Coulibaly all being on Team Mitch gives it a lot of experience (all second-year players) and multiple NBA starters.

I lean with them to win – especially since they have the easier path against the G League squad in their first game. 

Pick: Team Mitch (+125 at DraftKings)

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