Stephon Castle led Team Chris [Mullin] to the Rising Stars Tournament championship, beating the G League team, 25-14, in the final.

Castle scored almost half of Team Chris’ points, finishing with 12 points on five-of-eight field goal shooting. After falling behind early on by three points, 5-2, Castle scored 12 of the next 15 points to put Team Chris in control for good, 17-14.

Dalton Knecht then sealed the win for them, scoring five straight, before Keyonte George drilled a three-pointer to end the game.

Team Chris will now rebrand into Team Candace [Parker] and join the weekend’s main event, Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game. They are set to face Team Shaq [O’Neal] which is headlined by some of the NBA’s all-time greats–LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant. 

Given how lackadaisical the All-Stars have been playing during the league’s annual showcase, it would not come as a surprise if Team Candace can pull off an upset and win it all. Though they are young, they boast of a complete roster that has all bases covered.

They boast of a strong trio of perimeter players in Castle, Knecht, and George who can all score from the perimeter while Jaylen Wells and Ryan Dunn have the versatility to fill in for whatever is needed by the team. On the inside, the pairing of Zach Edey’s size and Trayce Jackson-Davis’ athleticism should allow them to match-up well against most interior threats.

The G League team put up a valiant effort, shocking the Thompson Twins and Team Mitch [Richmond], 40-39, to make it to the final, but Castle’s onslaught proved to be too much for them to handle.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1890619707088077258

All in all, this tournament format stirred up a great amount of enthusiasm for the Rising Stars showcase, a game that has fallen under the radar in recent years. The world–and the league’s front office–will be watching closely how this novel idea translates into the main game on Sunday.

The NBA All-Star game is in dire need of a shake up and this format aims to address the snoozefest that it has become in recent years. If this Rising Stars Tournament is any indication though, this year’s NBA All-Star game is going to be a fun one for the first time in ages.