Saric, Okafor Enjoy Rising Stars Challenge as Embiid Makes His Own Fun

NEW ORLEANS -- Even with Joel Embiid on the bench in street clothes, the young center embodied the fun Sixers' representatives in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge were having at All-Star weekend.

In the end, Dario Saric's World Team knocked off Jahlil Okafor's USA Team 150-141 at the Smoothie King Center on Friday night.

But the Sixers' youth had a blast.

Embiid tweeted regularly from the bench, including one that read "Dario Saric can ball wow." 

Saric, who finished with 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting and four assists in 26 minutes, said playing in the game was a highlight of his young career.

"It feels really good," he said. "It's really important. Some people might think it puts pressure on you like Rookie of the Year, upcoming star or something like that, but I don't think like that. I just want to play. I just want to put my talent on the court every practice and every game."

Saric was loose after the game and said that he'll enjoy Miami for the next two or three days after joining in a "Whip and Nae Nae" dance demonstration.

Okafor finished with 10 points on 5 of 6 shooting in 14 minutes in his second appearance in the game.

"I'm enjoying it," Okafor said. "It's a lot of fun. It's guys that I've grew up with through the ranks of AAU and high school basketball. We've been on the same landscape, and now we're all here doing what we love to do."

Okafor also answered questions about trade rumors after the game, saying he's happy in Philadelphia.

"I'm just going to control what I can control, and as far as I know I'm still a Sixer, and I'm happy to be a Sixer," he said. "I'll keep working everyday. My teammates are there for me. The outside noise doesn't bother me. I don't worry about it.

"I just know once the trade deadline is over that I'll have a certainty of where I'll be for the rest of the season. I won't be thinking about where I'll be tomorrow and stuff like that. That stuff does creep into your mind, but I'm doing the best I can just focusing on basketball. I've been dealing with rumors since I've been in the NBA."

Now the Sixers, currently 5½ games out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, will turn their attention to final half of the regular and a potential playoff run. 

"We will try, but I don't think that is the main thing for this season," Saric said. "I think it's the first thing for next season. We still played good basketball without Joel and some others. Every new game somebody does something, so I think maybe we can do it."

The Nuggets' Jamal Murray took home MVP honors - which Embiid correctly predicted before tipoff - after scoring 36 points on 13 of 19 shooting.