2025 Castrol Rising Stars: How to watch, streaming details and player pool for NBA All-Star Friday night event

The Castrol Rising Stars event is an annual showcase spotlighting the NBA's top rookie and sophomore talents alongside standout performers from the NBA G League.

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Following last year's format, the competition will feature four squads, with rosters assembled through a Rising Stars Draft set for Feb. 4 at 4 p.m. ET. While three teams will be built from a mix of first- and second-year NBA players, the fourth will be comprised of seven handpicked G League prospects. The honorary head coaches for the event have yet to be revealed.

The tournament will unfold with a knockout-style format, featuring two semifinal matchups followed by a championship showdown. The semifinal clashes will be decided once a team hits 40 points, while the title game will be played to 25 points.

The squad that emerges victorious will earn a coveted spot in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night, where they'll take on one of the three All-Star teams in a high-stakes showdown.

So, who's stepping up to take flight in this year's rising stars showcase? Here's a rundown of the participants set to wow the crowd, along with details on how to catch the action live—on TV and online.

2025 Castrol Rising Stars: Date & time

The 2025 NBA Rising Stars showcase is set to light up Chase Center in San Francisco, CA, on Friday, February 14. This annual display of the league’s top up-and-coming talent will feature a four-team, three-game mini-tournament, tipping off at 9 pm ET on TNT.

The stakes are high, as the Castrol Rising Stars champions will punch their ticket to the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, where they’ll compete alongside the game's elite on Sunday, February 16, at 8 pm ET, also airing on TNT. TNT analyst and WNBA legend Candace Parker will serve as honorary GM of the Rising Stars champion, which will be named as Team Candace.

The Rising Stars Draft will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 4 p.m. ET on the NBA App and on social platforms @NBA.

How to watch the 2025 Castrol NBA Rising Stars: TV channel, live stream

• TV Channel: TNT
• Livestream: DirecTV Stream (Try for free), Sling TV

Viewers can watch the NBA All-Star Castrol Rising Stars on TNT. The event can also be streamed on DirecTV Stream, which is offering a free-trial to new subscribers.

Watch the 2025 NBA Rising Stars with DirecTV Stream

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2025 Castrol NBA Rising Stars player pool

The Castrol Rising Stars talent pool features a mix of 10 NBA rookies, 11 second-year players, and seven standouts from the NBA G League. A panel of NBA assistant coaches handpicked 21 NBA players, who will be divided into three squads of seven.

The player pool is below.

NBA Rookies

NBA Sophomores

NBA G League Players

* = Replacement + = Will not play

2025 Castrol Rising Stars: How it works

The Castrol Rising Stars mini-tournament will see Team A square off against Team B in the first semifinal (Game 1), while Team C locks horns with Team D in the second semifinal (Game 2). The victors from these clashes will then battle it out in the championship showdown (Game 3).

Each semifinal matchup will be decided by the first team to hit or surpass the 40-point mark, while the championship game will crown its winner once a team reaches or exceeds 25 points.

To determine the NBA players for Castrol Rising Stars, every franchise's coaching staff submitted a ballot, selecting four frontcourt players, four guards, and two additional players—regardless of position—for both the rookie and sophomore ballots. The selections were ranked in order of preference, and coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own squads.

The final roster was decided based on the total points each player accumulated from the ballots, with rankings influencing the point allocation. As a result, the player pool features one more sophomore than rookie, reflecting the overall vote tally.

If a player earns a spot in both the NBA All-Star Game and Castrol Rising Stars, he will exclusively participate in one of the three All-Star teams during the main event on Sunday, February 16.

Additionally, assistant coaches from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder—the coaching staffs for this year's NBA All-Star Game—will team up with honorary head coaches to lead the Castrol Rising Stars squads.

2025 NBA All-Star schedule