Jalen Suggs selected to 2022 Rising Stars challenge in Cleveland

Suggs was one of 12 rookies, and 28 players including a handful of G League players, to be added to this year's newly formatted contest

Suggs has been shooting 44.7% from the field in his last nine games since returning from a fractured thumb in January (photo courtesy of the Orlando Magic on Twitter)

After making the most of his return to action since mid-January, Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs has been selected to the roster for this year’s NBA Rising Star challenge. Suggs is one of 28 total players, and one of 12 rookies who have been added to this year’s showcase of young NBA talent.

Suggs, the fifth overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft to the Magic, took some time to find his footing with an Orlando team that hosts a handful of promising young guards like Cole Anthony and Markel Fultz. Over his first 13 games, the former Gonzaga stand-out was shooting 31.4% from the field and averaging 9.38 points, .76 steals, 3.46 assists a game.

After showing some steady improvement over his next eight games, Suggs fractured his right thumb in a loss to the Philadelphia 76er’s on Nov. 29 — an injury that would sideline him for the next 20 games of the Magic’s season.

Suggs returned to action on Jan. 14, and almost immediately began to display the basketball prowess which earned him WCC Newcomer of the Year last year.

In his nine games upon returning to the Magic’s lineup, Suggs has been shooting 44.7%, and has been getting 9.5 points, 1.3 steals, and five assists a game. Also over that span, the Minnesota native has helped the Magic gain four of the team’s 11 total wins on the season.

The other rookies named to the Rising Stars challenge are Suggs’ teammate Franz Wagner, rookie of the year frontrunner Evan Mobley from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors power forward Scottie Barnes and last year’s first overall pick Cade Cunningham.

The 2022 Rising Stars challenge will take place on Friday, Feb. 18 of the NBA’s All-Star weekend at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. The event starts at 6 p.m. PST on TNT.

This year’s Rising Stars challenge will incorporate a new format compared to years past. Along with the 12 rookies and 12 second year players added to the roster, there will also be four young players from the NBA G League who will get to participate for the first time ever.

The 28 players will be drafted into four different teams by members of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team and assistant coaches from the NBA All-Star game. They will then play in a short three-game tournament with games played to a fixed score to decide the best squad.

Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke were the last players hailing from GU to play in the NBA Rising Stars challenge when it was between Team USA and Team World in 2020. The former teammates got the chance to reunite on Team World that year, and were also named Rising Stars last season as an honorary nod since the game wasn’t actually played.