WATCH: Rising Stars MVP Cade Cunningham talks mindset entering event
Detroit Pistons rookie point guard Cade Cunningham won the Clorox Rising Stars MVP for his performance in Friday night’s All-Star Weekend event, leading Team Barry to a win. The event, held in Cleveland, showcases the NBA’s best first- and second-year players through a four-team tournament coached by league legends.
After defeating Gary Payton’s team in the semi-final, Rick Barry’s squad took down Isiah Thomas with a 13-2 run to reach the target score. After contributing a late 3-pointer and assist, former Oklahoma State star Cade Cunningham spoke to TNT’s Chris Haynes about his expectation for the intensity level of the Rising Stars games.
“Definitely,” Cunningham told Haynes about the high standard. “After watching the first game, we knew everybody was going to compete and get a win. So happy we were able to pull it off.”
Across the two games, Cunningham scored 18 points. With the unique scoring system, which created a target score of 50 in the first round and 25 in the second, his team shined. Despite early deficits in both games, Team Barry appeared to be the only of the four to run an offensive set which featured several plays.
This ability to create half-court offense helped them overcome two deficits and win the Rising Stars tournament with 75 points. The dedication stood out in an event which previously lacked the game-speed edge, but Cunningham explained this group entered with one goal.
“To win,” said Cunningham. “I feel like we had a team to do it, so we had to come out and prove ourselves and get the chip. So glad we did that.”
Along with Cunningham, Team Barry featured G-League prospect Dyson Daniels, rookies Evan Mobley, Alperen Sengun and Franz Wagner, as well as sophomores Isaac Okoro and Jae’Sean Tate.
NBA All-Star Weekend
The Friday night slate of NBA All-Star Weekend also included the All-Star Celebrity Game – featuring rapper Quavo, Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett and actress Tiffany Haddish, among others. With the first night of events now complete, attention turns to the Saturday competitions, including the skills challenge, 3-point shootout and dunk contest.
The weekend-long celebration of basketball also wraps up Sunday afternoon with the NBA All-Star Game, which features Team LeBron and Team Durant. The former Texas star will not compete after suffering an injury but will watch on as the team he picked competes for the win.
Kevin Durant’s starting lineup features Joel Embiid, Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum, Andrew Wiggins and Trae Young. LeBron James picked a starting lineup with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steph Curry, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Jokic.