An unexpected Toronto Raptors rookie showed out in the NBA Rising Stars Game on Friday.
Alijah Martin made a pair of triples and finished with six points, four rebounds and three assists in a losing effort for Team Austin in the opening game of the mini-tournament.
The Austin Rivers-coached squad, comprised of G League players, punched up at Team Melo, leading 32-28 as the game neared its target score of 40. But Houston Rockets sophomore Reed Sheppard splashed back-to-back threes, and San Antonio Spurs rookie Dylan Harper ultimately sealed the game with a step-back two, spoiling the attempted upset.
Meanwhile, the Raptors’ ninth-overall pick in the 2025 draft, Collin Murray-Boyles, played only one minute and missed his lone field goal attempt, a three-point shot.
Murray-Boyles, 20, missed four consecutive games in January with a left thumb sprain and also sat for the Raptors’ final game before the all-star break with the same injury. He was the only player who didn’t see the floor in the final between Team Melo and Team Vince.
Martin first lifted and swished a catch-and-shoot three from the wing, and later canned a wide-open look from the corner.
A national champion with the Florida Gators last year, Martin has played limited minutes with the Raptors this season, suiting up in only 13 games and averaging 2.6 points.
However, he was instrumental in leading the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate, to a record 16-0 start to the season. The 24-year-old is averaging 19.2 points and shooting 40 per cent from three across 26 total games for the 905.
Team Vince, coached by Raptors legend Vince Carter, won the final 25-24 on a pair of free throws by Philadelphia 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe.