NBA All-Star Weekend Rising Stars Predictions: NBA Best Bets (Feb. 13)

My NBA All-Star Weekend Rising Stars predictions back Team T-Mac and Team Melo to dominate early.

Team Melo - which will be led by 2025 Rising Stars Challenge MVP Stephon Castle - is a +160 betting favorite to win outright. The action from Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., is set to begin at 9 p.m. ET (Peacock) on Friday. Let's dive into our NBA best bets for All-Star Weekend.

🏀 NBA All-Star Weekend Rising Stars predictions: 9 p.m. ET

See all of our experts' NBA picks based on the latest NBA odds.

💰 Best NBA All-Star Weekend Rising Stars bet: Team T-Mac -2.5 (-110) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Team T-Mac's Kon Knueppel has the second-shortest odds in our NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Not only is the difference in talent obvious in this game, but the height disparity should be too much for Team Vince to overcome. Team T-Mac features 7-footers Kel'el Ware and Alex Sarr, while Team Vince doesn’t have a player taller than 6-foot-9.

Kon Knueppel will be dangerous in this tournament; he likely won’t win Rookie of the Year, but he could add a Rising Stars MVP to his resume this weekend. Look for Knueppel and Team T-Mac to come out focused on Friday.

I would play this bet up to -4.5.

🔥 More NBA All-Star Weekend Rising Stars picks

Check out all of our NBA analysis and expert predictions this season.

Team Melo -4.5 (-110) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Team Melo will be playing Team Austin, which is made up of G-League players. While I could see the G-Leaguers potentially upsetting a squad like Team Vince, Castle should have Team Melo fully focused after winning Rising Stars MVP last season.

Even without Cooper Flagg, who will miss this game with a foot injury, the combination of Castle, Jeremiah Fears, and Reed Sheppard should be enough for Team Melo to win comfortably.

This bet is good up to -5.5.

Team T-Mac to win outright (+175) ⭐⭐⭐

Team Melo and Team T-Mac are projected to be the two best teams in this tournament, but Team T-Mac will be difficult to guard due to their height. Team Melo has only one player over 6-7.

Knueppel’s motivation to win Rising Stars MVP, combined with Team T-Mac’s height, should make them the favorite over Team Melo.

This future is playable up to +155.

🚀 NBA All-Star Weekend Rising Stars SGP

🚑 NBA All-Star Weekend Rising Stars injuries

Team Austin

• David Jones Garcia (ankle) - out

Team Melo

• Cooper Flagg (foot) - out

Team T-Mac

• Ajay Mitchell (abdomen) - out

Team Vince

• None

📺 How to watch NBA All-Star Weekend Rising Stars

• Date: Friday, Feb. 13
• Tipoff: 9 p.m. ET
• Location: Intuit Dome (Inglewood, Calif.)
• TV: Peacock