The San Antonio Spurs will have two players suiting up for the 2012 NBA Rising Stars Challenge at the Orlando All-Star event. Tiago Splitter and Kawhi Leonard got the nod with the rookie joining nine other first-year players and Splitter joining fellow second-year players like Blake Griffin and John Wall.
This year's Rising Stars event will follow a different format than the previous Rookie vs. Sophomore game. To make the event more fan friendly, TNT personalities Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley will act as "general managers" and "draft" sides in playground fashion.
TNT's Kenny Smith will serve as the honorary Commissioner and Ernie Johnson will host the live Rising Stars Challenge Draft on Thursday, Feb. 16, on NBA TV at 7 p.m. ET. The game itself will be televised live nationally on TNT at 9 p.m. ET.
For more on the stats that earned Irving and Thompson their first trip to an NBA All-Star event, see the press release on the Spurs web site. The full Rising Stars roster is available after the jump.
MarShon Brooks New Jersey G-F 6-5 200 Providence/USA R
DeMarcus Cousins Sacramento C 6-11 270 Kentucky/USA 1
Landry Fields New York G 6-7 210 Stanford/USA 1
Paul George Indiana G-F 6-8 215 Fresno State/USA 1
Blake Griffin L.A. Clippers F 6-10 251 Oklahoma/USA 1
Gordon Hayward Utah F 6-8 210 Butler/USA 1
Kyrie Irving Cleveland G 6-3 191 Duke/USA R
Brandon Knight Detroit G 6-3 189 Kentucky/USA R
Kawhi Leonard San Antonio G-F 6-7 225 San Diego State/USA R
Greg Monroe Detroit C 6-11 250 Georgetown/USA 1
Markieff Morris Phoenix F 6-10 245 Kansas/USA R
Ricky Rubio Minnesota G 6-4 180 FC Barcelona/Spain R
Tiago Splitter San Antonio F-C 6-11 240 Saski Baskonia/Brazil 1
Tristan Thompson Cleveland F 6-9 227 Texas/USA R
Evan Turner Philadelphia G-F 6-7 205 Ohio State/USA 1
John Wall Washington G 6-4 195 Kentucky/USA 1
Kemba Walker Charlotte G 6-1 172 Connecticut/USA R
Derrick Williams Minnesota F 6-8 241 Arizona /USA R