Herb Jones of the New Orleans Pelicans was selected for the NBA Rising Stars challenge, which is a showcase of the league’s best rookie and second-year players.
It was a well-deserved recognition for Jones, who has been arguably the best rookie defender and has been better-than-advertised as an offensive player as well.
Congrats to @_hoopinglife on being named an @NBAAllStar Rising Star! pic.twitter.com/21gmVyO90g
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) February 2, 2022
“Not on Herb” has been the biggest part of the Pelicans’ turnaround on defense, and he has shot well from 3-point range and been effective as a cutter on offense as well.
Jones looks like the perfect complement to Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, and the second-round pick is already a fan favorite.
This year’s NBA Rising Stars challenge is a little bit different than years past and I am glad to the NBA try something new.
To be honest, the All-Star weekend has grown stale over the years and the Rising Stars game was basically just a glorified scrimmage with little defense and a whole lot of botched alley-oops.
So kudos to the NBA for changing the format because this now looks really entertaining.
New NBA Rising Stars format will be much better
Instead of having two teams made up of rookies and sophomores, there will now be four 7-man teams chosen by four NBA legends.
The teams will play in a single-elimination three-game tournament to decide the winner, playing games to 25 and then 50 in the final.
I think this will inject some life into what had become a pretty boring game, as the games will be quick and players will be more likely to compete rather than just try for elaborate dunks and lobs.
I haven’t been bothered to watch many of these games over the years, but this new format definitely has my interest and should be far more entertaining.
It will be interesting to see who Herb Jones gets selected by and who he is matched up with, and I am sure he will relish the challenge of taking on the league’s best young scorers.