Carter Bryant 'Did What He Usually Does' en Route to Rising Stars Championship

LOS ANGELES — There aren't any hard feelings between Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant. At least, not on Bryant's end.

"I don't know if they have hard feelings," the San Antonio Spurs rookie quipped at Intuit Dome late Friday night, smiling, "but I'm great. I'm amazing right now."

Bryant represented Team Vince, coached by Vince Carter, as part of the NBA Rising Stars tourney that kicked off All-Star Weekend. In two games — the latter of which came against Carmelo Anthony's Team Melo and Castle, Harper — he tallied five points.

Had it not been for a pair of V.J. Edgecombe free throws sealing the championship, all parties may have left without any sleep lost.

"I feel like if it's target score, you should have to get a bucket for it," Castle said.

When Bryant got the call that he'd be a late addition to Rising Stars, he was in the middle of an intense workout. The question was simple: Do you want to play?

"I was like: 'What are you talking about?'" Bryant said.

It ended up being a net positive for the rookie. The trifecta of Spurs competing in Friday's event spent time debriefing the tourney in front of onlooking media, and once they retreated to the arena tunnels, they swapped jerseys. Bryant had extra reason to celebrate.

"He played great," Harper said of his teammate. "Did what he usually does: dunk, (hit) 3-balls, all the little stuff. He came in here and impacted the game."

Added Castle: "I was glad the three of us shared the court together."

Beyond Harper, Castle and Bryant, San Antonio has ample representation in Los Angeles. Associate head coach Sean Sweeney game planned for Team Melo, while assistant coach Corliss Williamson did the same for Team Vince.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson will lead USA Stripes — one of two American squads under the NBA's new All-Star Game format — while Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox face off. Bryant and Harper are each competing in another event, as well, having accepted bits to the Dunk Contest and Shooting Stars competition, respectively.

It spoke levels to Bryant to be surrounded by Spurs.

"That's something the Spurs have stood for for so long," he said. "It runs in the blood of the Spurs. We're capable of getting back to the upper half of the NBA ... (but) the second half of the season is nothing if we can't continue the way we're playing, keep executing."

With plenty of basketball left to play this season, Bryant and the Spurs know where they have to land to keep up with the expectations they've set for themselves. After the Dunk Contest, Bryant plans to go right back to his intense workout.

But not before watching his teammates ball out in the weekend's biggest event.

"We set a good tone this evening," Bryant said, still needing to prepare for his individual event. "Hopefully it carries over to the All-Star game on Sunday."