SINGAPORE – The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced that three-time NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento Kings; Lithuania) and two-time WNBA champion Lauren Jackson (Australia) will headline the inaugural NBA Rising Stars Invitational.
This is the league’s first regional high-school basketball tournament that will feature boys’ and girls’ teams from 11 countries across Asia-Pacific competing at the Kallang Tennis Hub in Singapore from Wednesday, June 25 – Sunday, June 29 as part of a multiday immersive basketball and entertainment festival.
Sabonis and Jackson will be joined by current Phoenix Suns players Ryan Dunn (U.S.) and Oso Ighodaro (U.S.) and B.LEAGUE player Keisei Tominaga (Japan). NBA Legend Yao Ming (China) will make special appearances, including attending the opening ceremony on June 25. The players and legends will interact with youth participants on-and-off the court throughout the week. The NBA Rising Stars Invitational will also feature live entertainment, including performances by the Los Angeles Lakers dance team, the Laker Girls and Miami Heat mascot Burnie.
Operated by the event agencies of NBA Singapore, the first annual NBA Rising Stars Invitational is part of the league’s multiyear collaboration with Sport Singapore (SportSG) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). The five-day tournament will tip off with round-robin play from June 25-27 before advancing to single-elimination semi-finals and final games on June 28 and 29. The participating players will also take part in skill development, social responsibility programming and off-court activities promoting cultural exchange. Additionally, top individual performers from the event will have the opportunity to attend future NBA basketball development camps, showcases and programs.
The participating high-school teams were identified in collaboration with local basketball federations and leagues. In the Philippines, the NBA through its local event agency conducted a local qualifying event to determine its representatives. The following is the complete list of teams competing in the NBA Rising Stars Invitational (teams subject to change):
| HIGH-SCHOOLS | ||
| Country | Boys Team | Girls Team |
| Australia | Berwick College | Flinders Christian Community College |
| China | Tsinghua University High School | Tsinghua University High School |
| India | Nehru World School | Delhi Public School Rajnandgaon |
| Indonesia | Jubilee School | SMAK Penabur Cirebon |
| Japan | Fukuoka University Ohori Senior High School | Kyoto Seika Gakuen Senior High School |
| Malaysia | Hin Hua High School | Hin Hua High School |
| Mongolia | Orkhon Aimag 1st High School | Oyunii Undraa High School |
| Philippines | National University Nazareth School | National University Nazareth School |
| Singapore | Anglo-Chinese Junior College | Hwa Chong Institution |
| Singapore | United World College South East Asia Dover | N/A |
| South Korea | Yongsan High School | Onyang Girls High School |
| Thailand | Assumption College Thonburi | Watnoinoppakhun School |
The NBA Rising Stars Invitational is supported by Official Community Partner Karim Family Foundation (KFF).
Fans can visit www.nba.com/risingstarsinvitational and follow NBA Rising Stars Invitational on Instagram for the latest news and updates. Visit www.nba.com/RSI-Ticketing to redeem free tickets to the event.