Milwaukee Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon has been selected to participate in the 2018 Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars as part of the 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend, the league announced today.
Brogdon, last season’s Rookie of the Year, participated in the game last year during 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans, scoring three points with five assists and four rebounds in 21 minutes. This year’s game will take place on Friday, Feb. 16, at 8 p.m. CT at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, and will be televised live by TNT.
Fresh off scoring a career-high 32 points in his last game on Jan. 22 vs. Phoenix, Brogdon is currently averaging 13.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 48.8 percent from the field during his second NBA season. Brogdon’s 13.7 points per game this season are 3.5 points more (10.2) than he averaged during his award-winning rookie season in 2016-17.
Brogdon is the fourth player in Bucks history to appear in the Rising Stars game twice (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Andrew Bogut, Brandon Jennings), with this being the fifth consecutive year the Bucks have been represented in the game.
This year’s showcase of young talent continues the U.S. vs. the world format that debuted in 2015 and pits 10 first- and second-year NBA players from the United States against 10 first- and second-year NBA players from around the world. Both rosters were selected by the NBA’s assistant coaches.
Joining Brogdon on the U.S. squad are Lonzo Ball (L.A. Lakers), Jaylen Brown (Boston), John Collins (Atlanta), Kris Dunn (Chicago), Brandon Ingram (L.A. Lakers), Kyle Kuzma (L.A. Lakers), Donovan Mitchell (Utah), Dennis Smith Jr. (Dallas) and Jayson Tatum (Boston).
Representing the World Team are Bogdan Bogdanovic (Sacramento), Dillon Brooks (Memphis), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia), Buddy Hield (Sacramento), Lauri Markkanen (Chicago), Jamal Murray (Denver), Frank Ntilikina (New York), Domantas Sabonis (Indiana), Dario Saric (Philadelphia) and Ben Simmons (Philadelphia).