THE FLATS – Josh Okogie tabbed for the second straight year to participate in the NBA Rising Stars Challenge … Legendary Mark Price to receive Bobby Jones Award by Athletes in Action … That and more in this edition of the Georgia Tech #ProJackets Basketball Report.
For the second-straight year, Timberwolves wing Josh Okogie will be representing the team at All-Star Weekend as part of the Rising Stars Challenge. The second-year wing born in Nigeria will be representing Team World in Chicago on Friday night.
In his second season, Okogie is averaging career-highs of 8.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. His 41.3 field goal percentage is also a career-high. Okogie has been especially hot lately, averaging 14.4 points per game while shooting 53.8 percent from the field.
In last year’s Rising Stars Challenge in Charlotte, Okogie finished with 13 points, four rebounds and four assists in nearly 19 minutes.
For the sixth consecutive year, the league’s annual showcase of premier young talent will pit 10 first- and second-year NBA players from the U.S. against 10 first- and second-year NBA players from around the world. The game will be televised live by TNT on Friday at 9 p.m. ET and will also be available on the Watch TNT App and on TNT Overtime.
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From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
Over the past week, Timberwolves guard Josh Okogie saw some of his best friends on the team head to other destinations. Gorgui Dieng is gone, so is Andrew Wiggins and the Wolves traded Jeff Teague last month as part of a massive roster overhaul.
Those were three of Okogie’s closest friends on the team, and at first it was a blow for Okogie to take.
“Initially my reaction was kind of like, ‘Whoa. Everybody’s gone,’ ” Okogie said. “That’s the hardest part about this job. You form relationships with guys and you form memories and you don’t forget, but it slips your mind sometimes that it’s still a business and the business of basketball is you might get traded.”
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Legendary Georgia Tech and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Mark Price will receive the Bobby Jones Award from Athletes in Action and the NBA Retired Players Association during the upcoming All-Star Weekend in Chicago. The award is named for former Philadelphia 76ers great Bobby Jones.
Price was a four-time NBA All-Star, won the 3-Point Shootout at the All-Star weekend back-to-back years and is a member of the exclusive 50-40-90 club (50% from the floor, 40% from the 3-pt-line, and 90% from the FT line). Only seven others in the history of the NBA are in this club: Larry Bird, Reggie Miller, Steph Curry, Steve Nash, Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki and Malcolm Brogdon. Price won a gold medal on Team USA in the World Championships in 1994 on Dream Team 2, and was a three=time All-American while at Georgia Tech.
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Thaddeus Young posted 10 points (4-12 FG, 2-6 3Pt), five rebounds, two blocks, an assist, and a steal over 33 minutes in Tuesday’s 126-114 road loss to the Wizards. The Bulls have dropped six straight games and sit in 10th place in the Eastern Conference.
Young has now started for nine straight games after a slew of injuries to the Bulls’ starting lineup. He’s performed well in a starting role and has recorded double-digit scoring efforts in each contest. Young is averaging 12.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, two steals, 1.7 assists, and 0.4 blocks over this nine-game stretch as a starter.
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Derrick Favors finished with 15 points (6-8 FG, 3-4 FT), 11 rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes during Saturday’s 124-117 win over the Pacers. The Pelicans have won three games in a row and hold 11th place in the Western Conference.
Favors hauled in double-digit boards for the fourth time in the last five games, as he continues to average a career-best 10.0 rebounds through 34 appearances. He’s also managing career highs in assists and field-goal percentage. Nevertheless, even with Zion Williamson (ankle) sitting this one out, Favors didn’t receive a ton of minutes, and he has seen more than 24 minutes in only three of the eight games Williamson has played thus far.
