Cade Cunningham named MVP, Achiuwa shines in Rising Stars tournament

Salahudeen SulaymanFebruary 19, 2022

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Number 1 draft pick of the 2021 class Cade Cunningham was named as the MVP of the Rising Stars exhibition tournament at the 2022 All Star Game as he led his team to an impressive win in the revamped tournament that opened the All Star weekend.

For this year’s edition, 28 players from the 2020 and 2021 draft classes, and the G-League Ignite were split into four teams of seven players each coached by an NBA Hall of Fam

Team Barry was coached by Rick Barry and had the following players: Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro, Alperen Sengun, Jae’Sean Tate, Franz Wagner and Dyson Daniels from the G-League Ignite.

Team Thomas was coached by Isiah Thomas and had the following players: Precious Achiuwa, Desmond Bane, Saddiq Bey, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Isaiah Stewart and Jaden Hardy from the G-League Ignite.

Team Payton was coached by Gary Payton and had the following players: LaMelo Ball, Scottie Barnes, Ayo Dosunmu, Jonathan Kuminga, Davion Mitchell, Jaden McDaniels and Scoot Henderson from the G-League Ignite.

Team Worthy was coached by James Worthy and had the following players: Jalen Green, Josh Giddey, Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, Tyrese Maxey, Herbert Jones and Marjon Beauchamp from the G-League Ignite.

The semifinals pitted Team Thomas against Team Worthy and Team Payton against Team Barry in a 50-point game that saw the first team to 50 points win the game.

Team Thomas won the first semifinal 50-49, defeating Team Worthy thanks to an impressive 16 points from Saddiq Bey of the Detroit Pistons. The second semifinal went to Team Barry after a 50-48 win over Team Payton. D’Tigers hopeful Ayo Dosunmu was solid in defence.

In the final, Team Barry emerged with a 25-20 win over Team Thomas, with Cade Cunningham recording 18 points and nine assists over the two games for his team. Precious Achiuwa was on fire for Team Thomas in the final, as he scored 12 of their 20 points in the game.

Cade Cunningham was named as the MVP of the tournament after his team won it.