NBA All-Star Weekend: Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma selected for Rising Stars Game

The Los Angeles Lakers may not have an All-Star representing the team when the city is taken over by the event in February, but they have three Rising Stars players hitting the court.

Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma have been selected for the game, the first time a trio of Lakers player have been in the rookie-sophomore showcase dating back to 1997. That group included Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher and Travis Knight.

The game, which will “Kickstart” the All-Star festivities, is going down Friday, Feb. 16 at STAPLES Center. The NBA is continuing on with the U.S. vs. World team setup, mingling rookies and sophomores on both teams.

The U.S. team includes the Lakers’ trio, Malcolm Brogdon, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, John Collins, Kris Dunn, Donovan Mitchell and Dennis Smith Jr.

The World team is headlined by Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Buddy Hield, Dillon Brooks, Lauri Markkanen, Jamal Murray, Frank Ntilikina and Domantas Sabonis.

Having the Sixers and Lakers’ crop of young talent on opposing teams should make for a fascinating game, even without Markelle Fultz in the mix.

Now, we await confirmation of the rumor that they might just let Larry Nance Jr. dunk. It’s time for LA to redeem itself.