National Basketball Association

Irving headlines roster for Rising Stars Challenge

Published Jan. 30, 2013 9:55 p.m. ET

foxsports

Kyrie Irving, the MVP of last year's Rising Stars Challenge, will return to the game featuring top rookies and second-year players.

The Cleveland All-Star was one of 18 players chosen Wednesday for the Feb. 15 game in Houston. Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal will again serve as general managers and draft teams during TNT's pregame show Feb. 7.

Rookie stars Damian Lillard of Portland and Anthony Davis of New Orleans, the No. 1 pick in the draft, also were selected.

Irving, voted an Eastern Conference reserve by the conference's head coaches, scored 34 points last year in Orlando to lead Team Chuck over Team Shaq, 146-133. Cavaliers teammates Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson and Tyler Zeller also were picked.

The remainder of the roster is: Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson (Golden State); Kemba Walker and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Charlotte); Brandon Knight and Andre Drummond (Detroit); Bradley Beal (Washington); Kenneth Faried (Denver); Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio); Chandler Parsons (Houston); Alexey Shved (Minnesota); and Nikola Vucevic (Orlando).