The 2026 Rising Stars event will feature 11 sophomores, 10 rookies and seven G League representatives, the NBA announced in a press release. The mini-tournament will take place at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California on February 13.
Here’s the full list of participants:
Rookies
- Cedric Coward, Grizzlies
- Dylan Harper, Spurs
- Egor Dёmin, Nets
- Tre Johnson, Wizards
- VJ Edgecombe, Sixers
- Kon Knueppel, Hornets
- Jeremiah Fears, Pelicans
- Collin Murray-Boyles, Raptors
- Cooper Flagg, Mavericks
- Derik Queen, Pelicans
Sophomores
- Matas Buzelis, Bulls
- Alex Sarr, Wizards
- Stephon Castle, Spurs
Reed Sheppard, Rockets- Donovan Clingan, Trail Blazers
- Cam Spencer, Grizzlies
- Kyshawn George, Wizards
- Jaylon Tyson, Cavaliers
- Ajay Mitchell, Thunder
- Kel’el Ware, Heat
- Jaylen Wells, Grizzlies
G League
- Sean East II, Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz‘s affiliate)
- Alijah Martin, Raptors 905
- Ron Harper Jr., Maine Celtics
- Tristen Newton, Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets‘ affiliate)
- David Jones Garcia, Austin Spurs
- Yang Hansen, Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers‘ affiliate)
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser, San Diego Clippers
All 10 of the rookies — headlined by No. 1 overall pick Flagg, No. 3 Edgecombe, and No. 4 Knuppel — were lottery selections in last year’s draft, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter links). By contrast, only five of the sophomores were lottery picks, with three being first-rounders outside of the lottery and three picked in the second round.
NBA assistant coaches selected the 21 rookies and sophomores, according to the release, and those players will be drafted onto three different seven-player teams on Tuesday at 6:00 pm CT on Peacock. Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady will draft and be the “honorary coaches” of the three squads, while Austin Rivers will be the honorary coach for the G League representatives.
The four actual head coaches will be assistants from the All-Star game coaching staffs.
Six of the seven players representing the G League are actually on NBA contracts: Yang (No. 16) and Niederhauser (No. 30) were 2025 first-round picks, while Martin, Harper, Newton and Garcia are on two-way deals with their respective clubs. East, who played in Canada and Romania last season, is the lone player on an actual G League contract after Utah waived him in the fall.
Dylan Harper, the No. 2 pick in the 2025 draft, is the younger brother of Ron Harper Jr. Both players are the sons of longtime NBA guard Ron Harper, who won five championships with the Bulls and Lakers.
As for the tournament itself, the four teams will face off in a single-elimination semifinal, with the two winners competing in the final. The semifinal is first to 40 points, whereas the final will be first to 25.