Both Emmanuel Mudiay and Nikola Jokic will be busy over the All-Star break, as they have both been named to the Rising Stars' World roster (as it's a USA vs. the World format). Jokic will face off against Karl-Anthony Towns (amongst others) as Towns was born in the US even though he plays Olympic basketball for the Dominican Republic. Per Chris Dempsey at the Denver Post:

Jokic is no surprise, as he leads all rookies in PER and and WS/48 while putting up assist numbers that rival the best rookie centers of the last 15 years, and although the Nuggets have been hesitant to entrust him with full starter minutes he's been part of the second-most productive foursome on the court in the NBA this year per this excellent Zach Lowe article. If he hadn't make the team it would have been the most egregious case of East Coast bias regarding rookies since LeBron James beat Carmelo Anthony for the Rookie of the Year.

Mudiay, on the other hand, has had a very up-and-down early campaign, with terrific playmaking offset by poor shooting and turnovers. He's been trending up since returning from the ankle injury that kept him out for several weeks and is averaging 13.8 points, 6.8 assists and just 2.8 turnovers in his last four games.

Gary Harris and Jusuf Nurkic were both eligible for the Rising Stars roster as well, but after turning it down last year in order to return home over the break last year, Nurkic's injuries have kept him from making an impact either on the court or with the selection committee. Gary Harris continues to be invisible to the league at large, but if he continues to play the way he has in the first half of the season, his time is coming soon.

Here's the NBA article with the full rundown.

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