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Canadian trio of Mathurin, Nembhard and Miller named to 2023 Jordan Rising Stars
TORONTO (January 31, 2023) – A trio of Canadians – Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard and Leonard Miller – have all been named to the 2023 Jordan Rising Stars, which will take place on Friday, Feb. 17 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City as part of NBA All-Star 2023.
Mathurin and Nembhard each earned the nod after strong starts to their rookie campaigns with the Indiana Pacers.
Mathurin, a Montreal product, has been an instant scoring threat for the Pacers, averaging 17.9 points-per-game — good for second on his team and second in the NBA amongst rookies. He last represented Canada at the FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup 2021, where he was second on the team in scoring, averaging 16.1 points per game.
After being selected 31st in last year’s NBA Draft, Nembhard has found a home in Indiana. Originally from Aurora, Ont., Nembhard has thrived both as a starter and coming off of the bench, as he’s averaging 8.5 points and 4.0 assists-per-game this season. Nembhard was the youngest player for Canada as the country returned to the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup in 2019.
Meanwhile, Miller will join the pair of Pacers in the game. The 19-year-old Miller is averaging 15.1 points and 8.4 rebounds-per-game with the NBA G League Ignite. The Scarborough, Ont. product will suit up for the NBA G League team in the Rising Stars Game, alongside six other fellow G League players. Miller played for Canada this past summer at the inaugural GLOBL JAM international basketball showcase in Toronto.
Mathurin and Nembhard will be eligible to be drafted to one of three teams for NBA players by Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah or Deron Williams, who are serving as captains for the three teams.
Additionally, fellow Canadian and Portland Trail Blazers rookie, Shaedon Sharpe, is also expected to be making the trip to Utah and compete in the 2023 AT&T Slam Dunk Contest.
The Rising Stars event is set to begin at 9:00 p.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 17. Three games will be played between the four teams, with the final game being played by the respective semi-final winners.
NBA All-Star 2023 in Salt Lake City, hosted in conjunction with the Utah Jazz, will bring together the most talented and passionate players for a global celebration of the league. The NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 19 at Vivint Arena, home to the Jazz. Vivint Arena will also host Jordan Rising Stars on Friday, Feb. 17 and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 18.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rising Stars Game BOUND ‼️💫<br><br>Shoutout to Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin and Leonard Miller, who will all represent 🇨🇦 in the Jordan Rising Stars event at NBA All-Star 2023 later this month in Utah! <a href="https://t.co/tJUvE3hncq">pic.twitter.com/tJUvE3hncq</a></p>— Canada Basketball (@CanBball) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanBball/status/1620909734936330245?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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