The greenest Nets player might be their sole representative at All-Star Weekend.
Brooklyn Nets rookie center Mason Plumlee has been selected by the NBA to play in the 2014 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, the league announced today. The Nets selected Plumlee, a four-year senior out of Duke, with the 22nd pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. The Rising Stars Challenge is a game between two teams made up of rookies and second-year players, drafted by a pool of selected NBA assistant coaches.
In 503 minutes over 33 games, Plumlee has shot 62.9 percent from the field, averaging 5.6 points and 3.0 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game. He has the third-highest PER among qualifying rookies in the NBA with 16.1. But he hasn’t been a recent factor: he hasn’t played since January 21st and hasn’t played more than ten minutes in a game since January 11th.
The Nets have recently pushed to get Joe Johnson’s name entered as an All-Star reserve, but Johnson has cooled in recent weeks. Forward Mirza Teletovic is a longshot candidate to make the league’s Foot Locker Three Point Contest, but as we all know, Teletovic loves the long shots.
Brooklyn’s Plumlee is the only Plumlee in the 18-player pool: his older brother Miles, a second-year starter for the Phoenix Suns, was not one of the nine sophomores chosen.
