Wiggins, Towns, Porzingis banner NBA Rising Stars

NEW YORK — Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves will play on opposite teams in the Rising Stars Challenge at NBA All-Star weekend.

New York Knicks rookie star Kristaps Porzingis of Latvia will join Wiggins on the World team for the Feb. 12 game in Toronto — Wiggins' hometown. Wiggins won Rookie of the Year honors last year, and Towns and Porzingis are the leading candidates this season.

The game matches rookies and second-year players from the U.S. against a roster of international players.

Towns will headline the US team that includes another Minnesota player, Zach LaVine, giving the Timberwolves three players in the game, all 20 years old. Philadelphia's Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor also will play for the US, along with the Lakers' D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson, Milwaukee's Jabari Parker, Orlando's Elfrid Payton, Boston's Marcus Smart and Utah's Rodney Hood.

Dallas' Dwight Powell gives the World a second Canadian on the roster, which also includes Orlando's Mario Hezonja and Brooklyn's Bojan Bogdanovic (both from Croatia); Denver's Emmanuel Mudiay (Republic of Congo) and Nikola Jokic (Serbia); Chicago's Nikola Mirotic (Montenegro); Houston's Clint Capela (Switzerland); and Utah's Raul Neto (Brazil).