When Rookie Met Sophomore

To some, it is an adventure. To others, a way of life. For those who call the furthest reaches of the mind, and basketball, their home, nothing on All-Star Weekend can top the effervescent tingle provided by the Rookie/Sophomore Challenge.

It has had several names, and known many faces. Many times, greats-in-the-making have taken home its highest honors, or at least put up the biggest stat lines. But that is only part of the story, and we who follow its lore know that more than winning, dunking, and getting into the real ASG the following season makes for Rook/Soph immortality.

In an attempt to share our knowledge with the non-believers, we have compiled our 11 favorite Rookie/Sophomore performances down through the ages.

Allen Iverson, 1997
Get ready to hold your eyeballs in: In 1997, Red Auerbach and Red Holzman faced off as coaches of the East and West, respectively. Score one for Auerbach, who got to coach the East. To top it off, and send several generations of fans into a tailspin, he coached an Allen Iverson-lead team to a victory. AI got the MVP, and for a brief moment, there was peace in the valley. Here, I'll say it again: Red Auerbach successfully coached Allen Iverson. Just like Larry Brown did. Now we know where the real problem lies. -- Bethlehem Shoals

Kevin Durant, 2009
Kevin Durant, who had just begun to emerge as a superstar midway through his second season, showed the globe his essence in a 46-point explosion in 2009. He did it all in 31 minutes -- and when we say "all," we mean "ALL." He stuck four of his eight threes, got to the line for eight free throws and sent dunk-y chills through the world. The purest Rookie Challenge performance ever. -- Tom Ziller

Monta Ellis, 2007
Ellis didn't even start, but he flat-out exploded with a game that rivals Durant's 2009 for national coming-out parties -- at least insofar as this exhibition can provide that. Given the versatile scorer, and likely All-Star, that Ellis has become, his 28 points (13/16, 7 dunks, many near-dunks) is almost a mark against him. It's the player many still think him to be, and makes you see why some guys don't want to spend ASW dunking. But whatever, it was amazing to behold, almost casual in its sky-highness, and remains one of the more surreal series of highlights to come out of Rook/Soph. And that's saying something.



Zeljko Rebraca, 2001
If you know anything about the Rookie/Sophomore Challenge, you know that it's a big deal with the first-years prevail. Then again, if you know anything about the NBA, you know that the 2000 draft was truly awful, and made their 103-97 win strangely unimpressive. But look below the surface, and you'll see that while we mostly saw Jason Richardson, Pau Gasol, and Shane Battier take out the likes of Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles, the Class of 2001 got a major assist from Pistons rookie Zeljko Rebraca. His 14 points and 9 boards were the highlight of his career. -- B.S.

Kobe Bryant, 1997
In 1997, a rookie Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 31 points for Red Holzman's West team. More impressive? In 26 minutes of play, Kobe took 17 field goal attempts, 16 free throws and committed seven turnovers. That's 32 personal possessions used, or one for every 49 seconds of play. In a 30-minute game. -- T.Z.

Jason Williams, 2000
Jason Williams announced his candidacy for the presidency in 2000, or might as well have. The sophomore took his Kings flavor to its very essence, making no sane pass. His behind-the-back elbow pass to Raef LaFrentz remains the most famous product of a truly unbridled performance. -- T.Z.



Elton Brand, 2000
Here's a fun fact that might well serve as Elton Brand's epitaph: As a sophomore in 2000, he set the all-time Rookie Challenge record for rebounds with 21. Without checking, I will assume that no one's even come close to touching that mark. In that game, Raef Lafrentz was the only other player with double-digit boards; nearly a decade later, in 2009, no one managed more than 8 on either team. You often hear people claim that certain guys belong in the ASG because of their showmanship. This proves the opposite. -- B.S.

Sharone Wright, 1995
A few summers ago, someone who looked a lot like Bethlehem Shoals attended a party where a very drunk man told his stories of his time as a translator/deep back-up PG for a Chinese pro team. Sharone Wright was there for a spell, paid in bags of cash. Wright and the drunk man became good friends, and this bond persisted even when Wright insisted on bringing his own Kool-Aid pack with him to the swankiest steakhouse in town. He did it his way, like when he started the 1995 game and only played 15 minutes -- B.S.

Daniel Gibson, 2008
Daniel Gibson broke all sorts of records for personal display of ugliness in 2008 when he took 20 FGAs ... every last one from behind the arc. He actually hit 11 of them, and became the first completely irrelevant NBA player to win Rookie Challenge MVP. Boobie didn't even enter the game until midway through the first half; he still managed to jack up 12 threes before the break. A nattily attired LeBron James appeared to be trapped between embarassment and pride. -- T.Z.

Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, and Danny Granger, 2006
Have you ever wondered why the Dunk Contest is called "Rising Stars," not this event? It's because sometimes, what you see has little or nothing to do with future greatness. In the 2006 game, the sophs beat the rookies by a score of 106-96, though no thanks to starting center Dwight Howard's 4 points and 6 rebounds. Then again, the youngsters might have had a chance if Deron Williams had gotten more than 12 minutes (4 points, too), or starter Danny Granger not been limited to 9 points on 3 for 8 shooting. Wait, Andre Iguodala was on him? That Dunk Contest robbery was institutional payback. -- B.S.

Lifetime Achievement Award: Jason Richardson, 2002-03
Richardson's full-on array of highlight jams in the 2002 and 2003 could've won him the Dunk Contest (he did both years, anyway), and his clowning of Carlos Boozer had a permanent effect on the way the Booze was seen. In 2002, he went 11 for 18 and finished with 26 and the MVP; he led the game with 31 in 2003, but the trophy went to then-teammate Gilbert Arenas instead even though he scored fewer points (30). -- B.S.