CLEVELAND — When NBA All-Star Weekend takes place in Cleveland next month, the league will debut a new format for its Rising Stars event.
On Tuesday, the NBA announced the new format for its annual showcase, which will now feature a four-team tournament consisting of 28 players. While the Rising Stars game had previously consisted of first and second-year players, this year, four players from the NBA's G League Ignite team will be added to the mix.
The 28 players -- 12 rookies, 12 sophomores and the four G League Ignite players -- will be divided into four separate teams. Rookies and sophomores will be elected to the game based on voting by NBA assistant coaches, while the G League coaches will select the four Ignite players.
Each of the four teams will then be coached by one member of NBA 75 team along with assistant coaches from the 2022 All-Star Game, who will draft their squads on an earlier date prior to the tournament. The four teams will then play in a three-game tournament, with each game being played to a final target score.
In honor of the NBA's 75th anniversary, Games 1 and 2 will be played until one of the teams reaches 50 points, with the winner of those two contests meeting in Game 3, which will be played until a team reaches 25 points.
Additionally, the NBA announced that in between Games 2 and 3, it will host a Clorox Clutch Challenge. The competition will see eight NBA and NBA G League Ignite players divided into four teams of two and compete to make shots from five locations on the court tied to iconic shots made in the NBA Playoffs.
The 2022 Rising Stars Challenge is scheduled to be played at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Friday, Feb. 18 and will be broadcasted live on TNT at 9 p.m. ET.