The 76ers’ starting frontcourt is headed to Toronto for this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend festivities. On Wednesday afternoon, the league announced that power forward Nerlens Noel and center Jahlil Okafor were among the 10 players chosen to represent the United States in the 23rd annual BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge. For the second year in a row, the event, scheduled for Friday, February 12th at Air Canada Centre, will pit some of the NBA’s top rookie and sophomore American prospects against their counterparts from the rest of the world.Assistant coaches from around the league were responsible for picking the players nominated to both the U.S. and World rosters. The selections were the latest promising developments in the budding careers of both Noel and Okafor, the Sixers’ two young low-post weapons.”We are proud that Nerlens and Jahlil were recognized for their talent, hard work and commitment to their craft,” Sixers President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Sam Hinkie said in part of a statement released by the team. “This is a recognition both for them and their families, who have sacrificed and supported Nerlens and Jahlil during every step of their basketball journeys.”Hinkie has been responsible for running the Sixers’ draft since he was hired in May of 2013. The next month, he wielded a bold trade with the New Orleans Pelicans that allowed the Sixers to select Noel with that year’s sixth pick. This past June, Hinkie and the basketball operations staff decided to nab Okafor third overall. Since making their respective professional debuts with the Sixers, Noel and Okafor have each demonstrated the potential to be viable, foundational pillars of the franchise. After missing the entire 2013-2014 campaign while recovering from a left knee ACL tear he sustained as a freshman at Kentucky, Noel went on to receive NBA All-Rookie First-Team honors last spring. The Boston native was one of one of eight first-year players to appear in 75 games, and ended up pacing his peers with an average 8.1 rebounds per game. Noel also ranked eighth overall in the league with 142 blocked shots, tenth with 133 steals, and eighth with an individual defensive rating of 99.2.
Upon returning from a two-game injury absence in the middle of December, Noel has been enjoying one of the strongest stretches of his career, averaging 11.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, and 28.7 minutes over his past 19 contests. During this stretch, Noel’s 63.8 field goal percentage ranks third-best among NBA players who log at least 25 minutes per appearance. This spike in efficiency has vaulted Noel’s shooting percentage to 11th in the league. A product of Chicago’s proven hoops pipeline, Okafor wasted little time in establishing himself as one of the frontrunners for the 2016 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He’s led the league’s current crop of first-year players in scoring since the opening week of the season, and has shown no signs of relinquishing that distinction. In addition to producing 17.4 points per game, the Duke product has turned in 18 20-point performances through the first 41 outings of his career. As of Wednesday, Okafor had netted 10 points in 14 consecutive contests, the longest streak compiled by any rookie at stage of the season. His 7.3 rebounds per game is the third-highest average in this year’s rookie class.
The Sixers have now sent at least one player to the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge exhibition in each of the last three years. Michael Carter-Williams was nominated to the event in 2014 and 2015. Robert Covington replaced an injured Carter-Williams on the United States’ team a year ago. Noel started the 2015 edition of the game, and posted four points, four rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in 17 minutes. Okafor, meanwhile, is one of three rookies on this year’s U.S. team. Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns and Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell are the other two.
