NBA Rising Stars: Victor Wembanyama Finds Legendary Mentor in 7-Foot 2X Champion on All-Star Weekend

The 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend is only 10 days away. And all the major events in the star-studded weekend are finally starting to take shape. The first day of the weekend will see the best rookies and sophomores competing in the Rising Stars match. While the list of stars playing in the match was already out there, a draft to divide them into 3 teams took place tonight.

The biggest name on the list, San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama found himself under the mentorship of the 2-time Champion Pau Gasol. The three mentors for the Rising Stars match, Hall of Famer Pau Gasol, WNBA legend Tamika Catchings, and Pacers legend Jalen Rose, selected their teams through a live draft. Gasol had the first pick in the draft and wasted no time selecting 20-year-old prodigy Victor Wembanyama. With Wemby off the board, Catchings selected 2023 Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero as her first pick. Even though Jalen Rose had the last pick among mentors, he got OKC’s 7’1 rookie Chet Holmgren.

Pau Gasol further selected Brandon Miller, Jaime Jacquez Jr., Bilal Coulibaly, Brandin Podziemski, Jabari Smith Jr., and Cason Wallace to play alongside Wembanyama. The Lakers legend is the perfect mentor for Wemby because Gasol was also a 7-foot Center who helped the Lakers win back-to-back Championships in 2009 and 2010. Tamika Catchings selected Dyson Daniels, Jalen Duren, Keyonte George, Scoot Henderson, Jaden Ivey, and Keegan Murray in her team. Finally, Jalen Rose took Jordan Hawkins, Walker Kessler, Dereck Lively II, Bennedict Mathurin, Shaedon Sharpe, and Jalen Williams off the board to play alongside Holmgren. Apart from these 3 teams consisting of rookies and sophomores, there will also be a 4th team coached by Detlef Schremph that will consist of all the top G league players.

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Can Victor Wembanyama get a double-win at the 2024 ASW?

With Victor Wembanyama leading the charge for Team Pau, the rookie will be looking to get a highlight win over other rookies and sophomores. Wemby hopes to get a double victory at the All-Star Weekend as he is reportedly also competing in Saturday’s Skills challenge. The NBA World is excited to witness all the aspects of Wembanyama’s skillset in the two events. He is a highlight machine even when he plays a regular game, so fans cannot wait to see what he has in store for his first All-Star Weekend.

Fans are also excited to see Wembanyama teaming up with top rookies from his draft class, including Brandon Miller and Jaime Jacquez Jr. Wemby has never played in a star-studded team like this, and it will be interesting to see what he brings to the table.

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