Hornets’ Frank Kaminsky secures spot at All-Star Weekend; fans flock for glimpse of Warriors

Whether point guard Kemba Walker is selected as an All-Star reserve, the Charlotte Hornets will be represented in New Orleans for NBA All-Star Weekend.

Hornets power forward Frank Kaminsky was named one of 10 first- or second-season players on the United States squad for the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge. The U.S. squad will face a 10-man team of players born outside the U.S.

The Rising Stars game will be played Friday, Feb. 17 at New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center, which will also host the All-Star Game two nights later.

Kaminsky is in his second NBA season, after the Hornets selected him ninth overall in the 2015 draft. Kaminsky, who backs up Marvin Williams, averages 10.2 points and 4.4 rebounds.

The last time the Hornets had an All-Star Weekend participant was in 2015, when Cody Zeller played in the Rising Stars game.

Among those Kaminsky will play with: Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns and Los Angeles Lakers rookie (and former Duke star) Brandon Ingram.

Among those playing for the World squad: Philadelphia 76ers rookie Joel Embiid, who was born in Cameroon, and New York Knicks star forward Kristaps Porzingis.

Walker will find out Thursday night if he’s been chosen for a first All-Star appearance. The seven reserve spots for the Eastern and Western conferences are selected by vote of each conference’s head coaches.

Walker has posted All-Star numbers this season, averaging 23 points and shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from 3-point range. What works against his chances are the abundance of top point guards in the East, including Cleveland’s Kyrie Irviing, Boston’s Isaiah Thomas, Toronto’s Kyle Lowry and Washington’s John Wall.

Rock-star following

Every NBA team has fans outside hotels in search of autographs. The attention the Golden State Warriors drew in uptown Charlotte Wednesday afternoon looked larger than what is typical.

Around 4 p.m., four hours before tip-off of the Warriors-Hornets game, roughly 50 fans stood outside the main entrance to the Ritz Carlton in uptown, hoping to intercept Warriors players as they boarded buses headed to Spectrum Center a few blocks away.

This was the only Charlotte appearance this season for the Warriors, the defending Western Conference champions, who entered Wednesday’s game with the best record in the NBA at 38-7. So, it was also the only chance for Charlotteans to see Warriors point guard Stephen Curry play this season in his hometown.

Curry was honored Tuesday in ceremonies at Charlotte Christian, where he attended high school, and his former college, Davidson. Charlotte Christian retired his jersey. Davidson renamed its student seating at Belk Arena “Section 30,” for Curry’s jersey number there.

This story was originally published January 25, 2017 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Hornets’ Frank Kaminsky secures spot at All-Star Weekend; fans flock for glimpse of Warriors."