Kia Rookie Ladder: Cedric Coward on rise as Top 3 remains unchanged

It’s a rite of deep January now, with the Castrol Rising Stars inevitably bringing some Rising Snubs. 

As with the All-Star Game itself, there are only so many roster spots available for the Rising Stars game at the showcase weekend in Los Angeles next month. When the player pool was announced Monday, 10 rookies, 11 second-year players and seven NBA G League participants were invited for the event on All-Star Friday, Feb. 13, at the Intuit Dome (9 ET, Peacock). 

It’s always possible that an injury could clear a spot for another worthy rookie candidate. For now, the Rising Stars format presents the same challenge as this season’s Kia Rookie Ladder: Limiting a deep field to just 10.  

Going by draft position, four of the 14 lottery picks from June did not make the initial cut. The Utah Jazz’s Ace Bailey, the fifth player selected, is the highest pick and biggest contributor among the so-called snubs. He’s got plenty of company, with no Jazz teammates chosen for that or any other All-Star event so far. (If it’s any consolation, Bailey is back on the Ladder this week after posting some strong scoring numbers.) 

The other three lottery picks who didn’t get the call: the Phoenix Suns’ Khaman Maluach (No. 10), the Chicago Bulls’ Noa Essengue (No. 12) and the San Antonio Spurs’ Carter Bryant (No. 14). Among occasional Ladder designees, the Sacramento Kings’ Maxime Raynaud, Dallas Mavericks’ Ryan Nembhard and Charlotte Hornets’ Ryan Kalkbrenner were absent from the list.  

Otherwise, nine rookies on the latest Ladder are scheduled to participate – and hopefully compete, an ingredient that matters to a successful All-Star Weekend event.  

The two leaders and former college teammates, Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel and Dallas’ Cooper Flagg, will be facing off for Team T-Mac (Tracy McGrady) and Team Melo (Carmelo Anthony). Those two Hall of Famers will coach their seven-man squads against Team Vince (HOFer Vince Carter) and Team Austin (Austin Rivers, NBA player turned broadcaster) in a mini-tournament.  

In each of the two semifinal games, the first team to reach 40 points will advance. In the title game, the winners will be the first to score 25 or more.  

While the 21 NBA rookies and “sophomores” were drafted onto three squads Tuesday night, the seven G League players will compete as an entry overseen by Rivers. 

After getting word of his invitation, Flagg told reporters: “Yeah, it means a lot. I feel blessed. It’s kind of an outcome of all the work I’ve put in. Obviously, the way the season started and how things have gone, we wish some things would’ve gone better, but everything happens for a reason.” 

Here are the latest rankings on this week’s Ladder:  

Weekly recap

• Some folks in Boston consider it a snub that energy guy Hugo González wasn’t invited to the Rising Stars event. The 19-year-old native of Spain, drafted 28th overall, ranks down the rookie board in a lot of traditional categories: 13th in rebounds, 23rd in minutes, 28th in total points and tied for 32nd in assists. But there’s one area in which the 6-foot-6 sub has excelled: plus/minus rating. His +219 ranks second to teammate Derrick White (+278) on a Celtics team that has outscored its opponents by 307 points so far. González’s total is a runaway among the rookies, with San Antonio’s Dylan Harper (+96), Philadelphia’s VJ Edgecombe (+58) and Golden State’s Will Richard (+47) lined up second through fourth.
• But wait, there’s more: González is on pace for the third-best plus/minus impact of any rookie in NBA history. He’s averaging +5.0 points per game, trailing only Spurs legend Tim Duncan (+5.2) and current OKC center Chet Holmgren (+5.1) in their debut seasons. Duncan and the players immediately behind González in the rookie ranking – Ben Simmons (+4.8), Donovan Mitchell (+4.5) and Jayson Tatum (+4.3) – all have been All-Stars.
• At the other end of the Class of 2025’s plus/minus scale, New Orleans’ Jeremiah Fears has logged the most minutes while getting outscored at -292. Heading into Tuesday night’s action, Utah’s Ace Bailey (-240), Sacramento’s Maxime Raynaud (-235) and Fears’ teammate Derik Queen (-195) were lined up behind him.
• Spurs guard Dylan Harper had a rough week as a scorer, averaging just 4.5 points on 33% shooting, getting up 4.5 shots per game while averaging 15.1 minutes. But coach Mitch Johnson has nudged the Draft’s No. 2 pick overall to attend to other things as he finds his offensive rhythm. “Continue to make plays off the ball. Force teammates get into the mix, rebounding, and some of those things,” Johnson said. “The scoring is very natural for him, and so to continue to put the energy into all the other areas, the ball will find him.” 

Storyline to watch  

A Blue Devil reunion in Dallas. Knueppel and Flagg, Duke teammates and the top two Ladder rung-holders, are scheduled to clash for the first time as young NBA stars when the Hornets face the Mavericks Thursday at American Airlines Center (8:30 ET, NBA League Pass). Flagg has been coping with a tender left ankle and was listed as questionable on Tuesday in advance of Dallas’ back-to-back opener Wednesday vs. Minnesota. Flagg has missed three of 46 games, while leading his team in total minutes, points, rebounds, assists and steals.  

(All stats through Tuesday, Jan. 27) 

1. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets

Season stats: 18.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.6 apg
Last Ladder: No. 1 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 4 

The Hornets/Knueppel bandwagon is getting crowded, with Charlotte’s 8-5 January, torrid offense and ball-moving starting lineup attracting newfound attention. Of Knueppel, ESPN insider Brian Windhorst recently said: “He’s like Steph [Curry] in that you can’t catch him. One of his great things that he does is move without the ball. Pass and relocate. He’ll set a ton of screens. … [Watch] the way he impacts the game.” 

2. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks

Season stats: 18.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 4.1 apg 
Last Ladder: No. 2 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 1 

The Dallas rookie is the NBA’s only player who rank in the Top 10 in clutch points (ninth), rebounds (first) and assists (ninth). Only Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe have logged more than Flagg’s 119.1 clutch minutes. 

3. VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers

Season stats: 15.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.2 apg 
Last Ladder: No. 3 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 3 

While none of the other players chosen as Castrol Rising Stars got a congratulatory shout-out from the White House, Edgecombe got exactly that from leadership in his native Bahamas. “VJ Edgecombe being named an NBA Rising Star is a reminder of the extraordinary talent coming out of The Bahamas,” Prime Minister Philip Davis, King Charles III’s right-hand man, posted on X. “You’re setting the standard, inspiring a new generation, and proving that our young people can compete and excel anywhere in the world. Proud of you, VJ!” 

4. Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies

Season stats: 13.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.8 apg 
Last Ladder: No. 5 ⬆️
Draft pick: No. 11 

Coward will have company on Castrol Rising Stars night with Grizzlies teammate and fellow Washington State product Jaylen Wells and guard Cam Spencer among the 11 second-year selections. Coward hit six of 14 3-pointers last week but just nine of 25 shots inside the arc.  

5. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans

Season stats: 12.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 4.3 apg
Last Ladder: No. 4 ⬇️
Draft pick: No. 13 

What does NBA legend Dominique Wilkins think of Queen’s rare bundle of skills and on-court demeanor? “He has size, he has skill, he’s very fast for a big guy, and he shows no fear,” Wilkins, the Hall of Famer and Hawks TV analyst, said of the Pelicans center. “Those are rare qualities for a guy his age, to come in with that type of attitude. I like him.” Down week, though, as Queen shot a combined 4-of-15 at Memphis and San Antonio.  

The next 5

6. Caleb Love, Portland Trail Blazers 

Season stats: 11.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.6 apg
Last Ladder: No. 8 ⬆️
Draft pick: Undrafted 

Any inferiority Love might have felt going undrafted was put to rest early this season when veteran Blazers guard Damian Lillard gave him the nickname “Top 10 pick.” The Arizona guard has played like it in recent weeks, averaging 15.4 points on 36.2% 3-point shooting in January prior to Portland’s game at Washington on Tuesday.  

7. Maxime Raynaud, Sacramento Kings 

Season stats: 9.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.1 apg 
Last Ladder: No. 6 ⬇️
Draft pick: No. 42 

The Kings’ second-round prize has gotten squeezed for playing time lately with the return of center Domantas Sabonis and coach Doug Christie’s use of two-way big Dylan Cardwell. He averaged just 3.3 points, five shots and 17.8 minutes last week heading into New York Tuesday.  

8. Jeremiah Fears, New Orleans Pelicans 

Season stats: 13.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3 apg
Last Ladder: No. 9 ⬆️
Draft pick: No. 7 

Fears is lugging the Class of 2025’s worst plus/minus (-292), but he ranks second in steals, third in total points, fourth in free throws made and minutes, and sixth in assists.  

9. Egor Dëmin, Brooklyn Nets  

Season stats: 10.4 ppg, 3 rpg, 3.4 apg
Last Ladder: No. 7 ⬇️
Draft pick: No. 8  

Dëmin has a streak of 33 consecutive games in which he’d made at least one 3-pointer (88-for-216, 40.7% in that span). This run of 3-pointers made matches Rudy Fernandez and Landry Shamet for the longest such streak by any rookie.  

T-10. Tre Johnson, Washington Wizards 

Season stats: 13.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.2 apg 
Last Ladder: Not ranked ⬆️
Draft pick: No. 6  

Johnson got up 18 shots a game (11 from the arc) on his way to leading the rookies with 22.5 ppg last week. He’ll be joined in the Rising Stars Game by Wizards teammates Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George.  

T-10. Ace Bailey, Utah Jazz 

Season stats: 11.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.6 apg 
Last Ladder: Not ranked ⬆️
Draft pick: No. 5 

Bailey is back to starting, which suits him and the Jazz: He averages 13.1 points on 47.2% shooting (36.4% on 3-pointers) in 28 starts compared to 5.4 on 34.8% (18.2%) in 11 off the bench.  

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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.