NBA All-Star Weekend 2024 arrives this weekend in Indianapolis with a full slate of exciting events. On Friday evening, young players take the stage in the 2024 Rising Stars tournament. It is a four-team event comprised of NBA rookies, sophomores and G League standouts playing three total games, including a championship clash. 

The teams are coached by basketball luminaries Pau Gasol, Tamika Catchings, Jalen Rose and Detlef Schrempf. Tipoff at Gainbridge Fieldhouse is set for 9 p.m. ET. Team Jalen will take on Team Tamika in the semifinals, with the winner meeting the winner of Team Detlef vs. Team Pau.

Team Pau is the betting favorite to win the mini-tournament at +145, with Team Tamika at +200, Team Jalen at +280 and Team Detlef at +750 to win the tournament.

Before making any 2024 Panini Rising Stars picks, you'll want to see what elite NBA expert Mike Barner has to say.

A respected NBA Fantasy expert, both season-long and daily, Barner's work has appeared in Sports Illustrated and on Yahoo, RotoWire and KFFL. He's also been featured on ESPN Radio. Barner digs deep into the data, examining team trends and projecting game outcomes.

Barner's expertise has been on full display over a wide sample. Over the past four seasons at SportsLine, Mike went 462-397 against the spread, returning $2,509 to $100 bettors. He enters the 2024 NBA All-Star weekend on a 15-5 run on all NBA picks, returning more than $800 for $100 bettors. He also has an incredible feel for NBA All-Star Weekend. In 2023, Barner nailed his pick on the Rising Stars. Anybody who followed his picks saw some HUGE returns.

Now he has analyzed the 2024 Panini Rising Stars from all angles and is delivering his picks for SportsLine. We can tell you Barner is fading Team Detlef, acknowledging they are not the best value "despite the appealing odds." He says they'll simply be too overmatched against NBA squads.

However, he's identified a critical X-factor, saying one side "is going to be a tough out." You ABSOLUTELY need to see it before locking in any picks of your own.

So who wins the 2024 Panini Rising Stars?, and what critical X-factor do you need to know about? ... Join SportsLine right now to get Friday's 2024 Panini Rising Stars pick, all from the SportsLine expert who nailed the 2023 winner in this event!