The Rising Stars challenge is the liveliest event on All-Star weekend. Yes, the All-Star game has the biggest names in the world, the 3-point shootout has the league’s best snipers from distance, and the dunk contest always has the potential to be the most electrifying event of the weekend. Yet, when it comes to the Rising Stars challenge, no other event can put all the best parts of the weekend in one game.
The one-on-one shootouts and the audacious dunk attempts have slowly disappeared from Sunday night have migrated to Friday night. You could make the case that the main event can still bring on the excitement, but players are older, more cautious, and more importantly, have been there and done that.