The NBA recently announced the participants for this year's Rising Stars Challenge. Among those who did not make the cut is New York Knicks sophomore center Mitchell Robinson.
Per Marc Berman of the New York Post, some people from the Knicks' front office fully expected Robinson to make the Rising Stars game on Feb. 14:
According to sources, Knicks brass fully expected Robinson to be part of the Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star weekend in Chicago in his second season. “The Shotblocker from The Bayou’’ was a second team All-Rookie pick in 2018-19.
The Knicks certainly had a lot of expectations this season. These are the same people who expected the Knicks to compete for a playoff spot this season.
Perhaps Robinson's exclusion from the team is even the fault of the Knicks in the first place. Many expected the 7-foot-1 big man to take a massive leap after turning in a great rookie season, where he was named to the All-Rookie Second Team.
However, he is seeing just 22 minutes a game this season, mostly off New York's bench. In those limited minutes, however, Robinson is proving to be very productive, with averages of 9.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks.
Unfortunately, those raw numbers weren't enough to include the Knicks center in the Rising Stars Challenge. Add the fact that other players from the USA roster are producing at a pretty high level themselves.
The USA squad is as star-studded as it gets with Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans) and Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks) spearheading the team. Among those bannering the World Team are Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), and Deandre Ayton (Phoenix Suns).
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