Former Gonzaga wing Julian Strawther added to Rising Stars roster

Turns out former Gonzaga wing Julian Strawther will be busy this weekend.

Strawther, who has assumed a bigger role in his second season with the Denver Nuggets, was named to replace Portland’s Scoot Henderson at the Rising Stars event Friday, part of NBA All-Star festivities this weekend in San Francisco.

Henderson suffered a sprained ankle Monday against Denver. He’s expected to sit out games Wednesday and Thursday and rest his ankle over the All-Star break.

Strawther extends Gonzaga’s streak of having at least one Rising Stars representative to six years, joining Chet Holmgren (2024), Andrew Nembhard (2023), Jalen Suggs (2022), Brandon Clarke (2021, 2020) and Rui Hachimura (2021, 2020).

Former Zags Domantas Sabonis (2018, 2017), Kelly Olynyk (2015, 2014) and Adam Morrison (2007) also participated in Rising Star events that highlight NBA rookies and second-year standouts.

The Rising Stars event will be a four-team minitournament on Friday, with Strawther joining the roster of Team Mitch Richmond, drafted by the former six-time NBA All-Star. Strawther’s teammates are Toumani Camara, Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, Yves Missi and the Thompson twins Amen and Ausar.

Richmond’s squad faces Jeremy Lin’s G League team in the first round, with the winner facing the winner of Team Chris Mullin vs. Team Tim Hardaway Sr.

The Rising Stars champion becomes the fourth team in Sunday’s All-Star four-team tournament field and will face Shaquille O’Neal’s squad, which includes Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Stephen Curry, in the semifinals.

TNT will air the Rising Stars event at 6 p.m. Friday. It can be streamed at TNT Overtime (NBA App, NBA.com) and Max.

Strawther has carved out more playing time – 22.5 minutes per game compared to 10.9 last season as a rookie. He made his first NBA starts in Denver’s past three games and is averaging 12.3 points in the team’s seven-game winning streak.

The 6-foot-7 Las Vegas native has more than doubled his scoring average to 9.6 points. His shooting percentages are improved (52.6 on shots inside the arc, 36.2 on 3s, 82.7 on free throws) compared to his rookie year (48.8, 29.7 and 71.0)

He had consecutive 18-point efforts with six combined 3-pointers in the past two games. He’s scored in double figures eight times in the past month, including a season-high 23 points in a win over Philadelphia. The Nuggets are 26-8 when Strawther plays 20-plus minutes and 3-0 when he is in the starting lineup.