Rising Stars Challenge — Royce O’Neale
The Rising Stars Challenge was obviously the event in which the Jazz were best represented as Donovan Mitchell suited up and played quite well, boasting a near double-double (he was just one assist shy) and shooting the ball efficiently.
But one thing that would have made it even better and more interesting for Jazz fans is if he could have been paired alongside his teammate Royce O’Neale. Although O’Neale is older than your typical ‘rising star’ at 25 years old, he’s still in just his second season in the NBA, so it would have been fun to see what he could do.
O’Neale’s numbers aren’t jumping off the page by any means, and there was some phenomenal young talent in the Rising Stars Challenge, meaning expecting him to participate is quite a stretch. Still, he’s been red hot of late, knocking down over 60 percent of his 3-point attempts in the month of February and he’s one of the best (though overlooked) young defenders in the game. By those merits alone, you can see why he’d be an intriguing consideration.
Plus besides, there’s no other Jazzman besides Mitchell (who was indeed in the event) that comes close to meriting consideration. Grayson Allen, anyone? I don’t think so. So while it’s a stretch, a perfect Utah Jazz All-Star Weekend would have given an extended look at what O’Neale could do alongside other up-and-coming talents.