To the Sunday action he goes!
The 2025 NBA All-Star festivities got underway on Friday night in the Bay Area, and the Golden State Warriors were well represented. In addition to having some representation in the Celebrity Game, three Warriors were in action in the Castrol Rising Stars tournament: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Brandin Podziemski, and Pat Spencer.
And the bragging rights go to TJD!
Jackson-Davis, who was drafted to Team C — coached by Warriors legend Chris Mullin — had to go through both of his teammates. The new Rising Stars format splits the players into four teams: three squads comprised of rookies and sophomores, and a fourth team made up of G League players. Those teams play a single-elimination tournament, with the semifinals being an untimed game to 40, and the championship being an untimed game to 25.
And the prize? A spot in Sunday’s tournament against the NBA All-Stars.
Team C, which featured Jackson-Davis alongside fellow sophomore Keyonte George (Utah Jazz), as well as rookies Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs), Zach Edey (Memphis Grizzlies), Dalton Knecht (Los Angeles Lakers), Jaylen Wells (Memphis Grizzlies), and Ryan Dunn (Phoenix Suns) faced off against Team T in the first round.
Team T — coached by another Warriors legend, Tim Hardaway — featured Podziemski and second-year pros Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Miami Heat), Gradey Dick (Toronto Raptors), and Anthony Black (Orlando Magic), in addition to rookies Zaccharie Risacher (Atlanta Hawks), Alex Sarr (Washington Wizards), and Tristan da Silva (Magic).
It was a back-and-forth game, with Team C leading most of the way, and winning 40-34. Jackson-Davis finished the game with six points on 3-for-4 shooting, while Podziemski, who was an injury replacement, had two points, two rebounds, and three assists, but shot 1-for-4. Neither player started for their team, which felt a little funny given that they were the home players, but they also haven’t been having as good of seasons as the youngsters who did start.
After Jackson-Davis and Mullin pulled off the victory, it was time for the other semifinal game, which pitted Team M (the only team without a Warrior playing for it) against Team G.
Team M — coach by, you guessed it, another Warriors legend in Mitch Richmond — was pretty experienced, with only two rookies: Bub Carrington (Wizards) and Matas Buzelis (Chicago Bulls). The rest of the team was sophomores, with Toumani Camara (Portland Trail Blazers), Bilal Coulibaly (Wizards), Julian Strawther (Denver Nuggets), and twins Amen Thompson (Houston Rockets) and Ausar Thompson (Detroit Pistons).
They put on a show against Team G, coached by none other than Jeremy Lin. That team included Spencer (who also didn’t start) along with Bryce McGowens (Blazers), JD Davison (Boston Celtics), Leonard Miller (Minnesota Timberwolves), Mac McClung (Magic), Reed Sheppard (Rockets), and Dink Pate (Mexico City Capitanes). Just like Spencer is, McGowens, Davison, and McClung are on two-way contracts with their teams. Miller and Sheppard are on standard NBA contracts but have drawn G League assignments, while Pate is not affiliated with an NBA team currently.
Team G had something to prove against their higher-profile opponent, and it was a thrilling game (score one for the new format!). McGowens drained a step-back three to give Spencer’s team a dramatic 40-39 win. Spencer missed his only shot, but grabbed two rebounds.
That put Jackson-Davis against Spencer and Mullin against Lin in the championship game. Team G again played like they had something to prove, and jumped out to an early lead. But Team C adjusted and ended the game on a dominant run, winning 25-14.
Jackson-Davis didn’t score in the championship game, but was on the court for the winning run: he only played 3:46, but Team C outscored Team G by 15 points in that span. Spencer got the start for Team G, and finished with two points and three rebounds, while shooting 1-for-2.
Castle, who had the game-winning shot in the semifinals and a dominant 12 points in the championship game, was named MVP of the Rising Stars tournament.
But there’s still basketball to be played for TJD and Team C. Thanks to the new format, we’ll see a repeat on Sunday: except instead of three rookie/sophomore teams and one G League team, it will be three All-Star teams and one Rising Stars team.
Jackson-Davis, Mullin, and Team C (which will be named Candace’s Rising Stars) will enter the four-team tourney, where the competition will be stiff. In the semifinals they’ll be pitted against Shaq’s OGs, where TJD will face off against his teammate Steph Curry, as well as LeBron James (Lakers), Kevin Durant (Suns), Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Damian Lillard (Milwaukee Bucks), James Harden (LA Clippers), Jaylen Brown (Celtics), and Kyrie Irving (Dallas Mavericks).
That means that one Warrior will be in the All-Star championship game, where they’ll face off against either Kenny’s Young Stars or Chuck’s Global Stars.
Kenny’s Young Stars features Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves), Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Grizzlies), Jalen Williams (Oklahoma City Thunder), Darius Garland (Cleveland Cavaliers), Evan Mobley (Cavaliers), Cade Cunningham (Pistons), and Tyler Herro (Heat). Chuck’s Global Stars is made up of Nikola Jokić (Nuggets), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Victor Wembanyama (Spurs), Pascal Siakam (Indiana Pacers), Alperen Şengün (Rockets), Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks), Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), and Trae Young (Hawks).
Like on Friday, Sunday’s semifinal games will be untimed games to 40. The championship game on Sunday, however, will also be to 40, which will be fun.
By beating his teammates on Friday night, Jackson-Davis earned a little payday as well, as each player on Sunday’s third and fourth-place teams will receive $25,000. If TJD wins the semifinal match against Curry, but loses in the title game, he’ll get $50,000. And if Candace’s Rising Stars pull off the upset and are crowned All-Star champions, each player will get a $125,000 check.
Should be fun!
But until then, we’ll get to enjoy the All-Star Saturday festivities, which feature Draymond Green, Moses Moody, and Buddy Hield.