The NBA’s rising stars took center stage on Saturday, putting on a couple of intriguing and competitive games that saw Team Vince win the Rising Stars championship on the heroics of V.J. Edgecombe.
Team Melo, led by 2025 NBA Draft second overall pick Dylan Harper, got the ball rolling, outlasting Team Austin, 32-28, in a highly competitive start to one of All-Star Weekend’s premier sidelights. Harper himself won the game for his team, hitting a tough turnaround jumper over his brother, Ron.
Team Vince, led by 2025 NBA Draft third overall pick V.J. Edgecombe, followed Team Melo to the finals with its own close win, 41-36, against Team T-Mac. Like Team Melo vs. Team Austin, Team Vince vs. Team T-Mac ended on a game-winner, too, with Edgecombe drilling the go-ahead basket.
Championship Goes Down the Wire
The Rising Stars final was as intense and competitive as the two semifinal showdowns, with Team Melo racing out to a 9-4 lead, only for Team Vince to nudge ahead with a quick 6-0 counter. The game went down to the wire, with Team Melo taking a slim 24-23 lead in a race to 25 and getting a chance to win it all. But Team Vince held its ground on defense and got the ball back, this time with its own opportunity to win.
Edgecombe again took over, this time taking it strong to the basket to draw a foul. With the championship on the line, the Sixers rookie calmly sank both freebies to give Team Vince the victory and Rising Stars bragging rights.
Edgecombe, Young Stars Inspired by Legends
Edgecombe fittingly was named MVP of the Rising Stars after pouring in a game-high 17 markers in the semis and adding 6 more in the final. Afterward, he admitted that he and his teammates were challenged by Team Vince coach and NBA legend Vince Carter to just play hard.
“[Vince] told us, ‘Why not just play hard?’ Earlier today, after practice, we all decided, man, we’re just going to compete,” Edgecombe said. “Vince, he just wanted me to be aggressive.”
The Sixers super rookie added that he was inspired by a pregame pep talk by another NBA legend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. But it wasn’t just Edgecombe whose competitive juice was flowing for the mini-tournament, as every player in the Rising Stars genuinely looked like he wanted to win badly.
“We were trying to go win everything,” said Matas Buzelis, a sophomore from the Chicago Bulls and a Team Vince member. “We weren’t trying to just lay back and cruise.”
Indeed, Team Vince didn’t lay back and cruise. But neither did everyone else from every other team in the Rising Stars. And that made for a competitive, must-see TV mini-tournament.
If only the superstars playing in Monday’s NBA All-Star Game could show that same resolve…
