NBA Philadelphia 76ers

Robert Covington Snubbed From NBA’s Rising Stars Challenge

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By @Greg_Sacidor

Bill Streicher - USA TODAY Sports

Bill Streicher – USA TODAY Sports

The 2015 NBA Rising Stars Challenge will feature two members of the Philadelphia 76ers. Unfortunately, forward Robert Covington will not be one of them.

After being signed by the 76ers in November of last year, the second-year forward has quickly proven that he belongs in the NBA. In the early parts of his tenure with the 76ers, Covington’s role was undefined. But in mid-December, head coach Brett Brown inserted him into the team’s starting lineup and Covington hasn’t looked back since.

On a roster full of first and second-year players who all possess a ton of upside, Covington has managed to separate himself from the rest. In 36 games with the 76ers this season, Covington has managed to become a go-to scorer for the team, something they have severely lacked during their ongoing rebuilding process.

Each year the NBA’s biggest and brightest stars come together to participate in the league’s midseason All-Star Game. With the roster of the 76ers filled with first and second-year players, participation in the All-Star Game itself is out of the question. But the next best thing for these players to aim for is the NBA’s annual Rising Stars Challenge, which features 20 of the league’s best first and second-year players going head to head.

On Wednesday afternoon, the NBA announced the 10-man rosters for both Team USA and The World Team. The 76ers do have multiple representatives in the game, as the NBA’s reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams and his former AAU teammate Nerlens Noel were selected for Team USA. Although the 76ers were given multiple representatives, Covington should have been one of them.

13 of the 20 participants for this year’s Rising Stars challenge are second-year players like Covington — including seven of the 10 members on Team USA. Among all second-year players this season, Covington ranks in the top 10 in many statistical categories. Among his fellow second-year players, he also is in the top five of points per game (12.5), steals per game (1.3) and three-pointers made per game (2.2).

When the NBA’s assistant coaches voted on which 20 players were going to participate in the Rising Stars Challenge, it would be understandable if they would want as many teams as possible to be represented, thus not selecting too many players from one team. But that was obviously not the case as the Minnesota Timberwolves, who currently sit below the 76ers in the standings, have four representatives in Gorgui Dieng, Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad and Andrew Wiggins.

Covington not being selected to participate is a simple case of name recognition holding more weight than actual production – something that haunts the NBA’s actual All-Star Game every year. In the grand scheme of things, one may wonder what is the big deal that Covington was not selected for an event that is held on the opening night of All-Star weekend and is sometimes even overshadowed by the celebrity game that takes place before it?

The big deal is that no matter how unpopular it is, the 76ers are trying to turn a roster full of first and second-year players into an eventual championship team. Many of their players — including Covington — may not be a top pick in the draft or be a big name from the college ranks, but that should not prevent them from getting recognized for their on-court play. With him outperforming many of his fellow second-year players, Covington absolutely deserved to be recognized and selected to participate in the 2015 NBA Rising Stars Challenge.

Greg Sacidor is a Philadelphia 76ers and NBA writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Greg_Sacidor or add him to your network on Google.

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