On Tuesday, the NBA announced the rosters for the All-Star weekend Rising Stars Challenge. The San Antonio Spurs sophomore Devin Vassell was surprisingly left off the roster. He posted his disappointment on social media later in the day.
Despite not feeling his best emotionally, he still brought plenty of energy into the game Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors. Vassell played 30 minutes off the bench, scoring 14 points and pulling down eight rebounds and dropping four assists.
After the game, teammate Dejounte Murray detailed how much the apparent snub hurt Vassell, as posted by San Antonio Express' Tom Orsborn.
Dejounte Murray said the Rising Game snub "kind of hurt" Devin Vassell "because he works so hard."
"You can say that one hit home for him. You could just see with his facial expression, his body language. But he was done and ready to play and win a game."
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) February 2, 2022
Murray pointed out that Vassell was “kind of hurt… because he works so hard. You can say that one hit home for him. You could just see with his facial expression, his body language. But he was done and ready to play and win a game.”
The Spurs nearly pulled off the huge upset. San Antonio held a 15-point lead going into the fourth quarter. Ultimately, the Warriors completed the comeback victory, winning 124-120. It was particularly impressive for the Warriors considering they were without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
The NBA Rising Stars Challenge is a featured event during the NBA All-Star Weekend. It used to pit a team of the best rookies in the league against the best sophomores. But there is a new format this season, where there will be four teams made up of seven players. They will play a three-game, single elimination tournament.
There were a handful of locks to make the sophomore roster like LaMelo Ball, Desmond Bane, Tyrese Maxey and Anthony Edwards. But there were 12 players named to the team and Vassell could very easily be one of them.
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