Feb. 13, 2026, 5:15 p.m. ET

Brooklyn Nets rookie guard Egor Demin and Team Vince (Vince Carter) are looking to win the entire Rising Stars event on Friday against three other teams competing to do the same thing. Brooklyn was only able to send Demin to All-Star Weekend with forward Michael Porter Jr. not making the All-Star Game, but there appears to be someone who believes that Demin’s team can make something happen.

“Coming out of the Draft, my pick would have been Team Melo led by No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg and reigning Kia Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle,” Brian Martin wrote for NBA.com when asked to predict which team could win the entire event. Demin will be sharing the court with fellow classmates in Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe and New Orleans Pelicans center Derik Queen, just to name a couple of his teammates.

“But since the draft, every team in this competition has been hit with injuries, with one exception – Team Vince,” Martin continued. In what can only be described as the most pure kind of irony, Team Vince did lose Memphis Grizzlies forward Cedric Coward due to right knee soreness, leaving the opportunity for San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant to join Team Vince hours before their game tips off at Intuit Dome at 9:55 PM ET.

The other three NBA.com writers that made their predictions, Steve Aschburner, Shaun Powell and John Schuhmann, picked the other teams in the competition to win it all. Aschburner and Schuhmann picked Team Melo (Carmelo Anthony) while Powell picked Team T-Mac (Tracy McGrady) so it seems like Team Melo is the favorite heading into the event if the NBA.com staff is an indication.

The good news for Team Vince in terms of its ability to win the entire event is the fact that Team Melo will not have Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg as he is dealing with a foot sprain. Either way, all four teams, including Team Austin (G League), will have to compete with whoever steps onto the floor and with that as the backdrop, Demin and company will give their all to win the entire event.

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