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Jaylen Brown won't play in this year's Rising Stars game, and ex-Brooklyn Nets general manager Billy King is at the top of the list of those responsible. Generally, players with his athleticism, versatility and upside aren't drafted by organizations that will consider their season a failure if they're not playing in May. Had Brown been drafted by a real lottery team, he would likely be averaging significantly more than his 5.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 14.3 minutes, and he would likely be a shoo-in for the U.S. Team that features only three rookies: Malcolm Brogdon, Brandon Ingram and Marquese Chriss. Thanks to the Boston Celtics' infamous 2013 trade with the Nets, though, Brown's job as a rookie is to make the most of a relatively limited role.

"He works really hard at it," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said last Friday, via WEEI's Josue Pavon. "We talk all the time. We've made mention that playing minutes is certainly a part of the development experience but there's a lot more that goes into that. He spends a lot of time studying, he had a great workout yesterday on an off day when he came in and put a lot of time in on both ends of the floor. I thought he did a lot of good things. The hard part in this league is being able to do it every night and doing it over and over and over again. But he's certainly a guy that's continuing to put in the work and certainly is capable of becoming a guy that is very consistent."

Stevens said that on the day of Brown's best game as a professional. In a 128-98 win over the Orlando Magic, he had 20 points, eight rebounds and two assists, shooting 6-for-13 from the field, 2-for-5 from 3-point range and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line. Starting in place of the injured Avery Bradley for the past week, Brown has generally fit in well and showed flashes of why Boston selected him third overall last June, but the Magic game was the clearest indication yet of his potential.

Brown told reporters that the Rising Stars snub will fuel his fire, and he declined an invite to participate in the dunk contest in order to "focus all my energy on being ready to help my team," via ESPN's Chris Haynes. Asked this week whether it's best to learn on the fly for a bad team or on the bench for a good team, Brown was diplomatic.

"That's tough to say," Brown said, via the Providence Journal's Bill Doyle. "That's a subjective question. I'm not saying everybody is the same, but for me it's been great to be able to play less and just learn, and just learn and grow from all the vets and stuff that's been around. It's a great organization and I'm lucky to be here."

Jaylen Brown hangs on the rim
Jaylen Brown's confidence has never been higher. USATSI

This week's rankings:

This week's rankings
1
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Joel Embiid Philadelphia 76ers C

Last week: No. 1

What's there to say about Joel Embiid at this point? A day after being left off the All-Star team, he did all this against the Rockets:

The spectacular center has only played in one game in the last week, but man, what a game. There's a reason James Harden called him the most skilled big man in the NBA. Hope that left knee contusion heals soon.

2
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Domantas Sabonis Oklahoma City Thunder PF

Last week: Unranked

Domantas Sabonis' role got a lot more important when Enes Kanter punched a chair and fractured his forearm last Thursday, and the big man has responded with a couple of double-digit scoring games. That includes the second double-double of his career against the Spurs on Tuesday, which featured a massive dunk on David Lee:

Somehow, no foul was called against Lee. See what these rookies have to deal with?

3
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Dario Saric Philadelphia 76ers PF

Last week: No. 5

Ex-Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie's 2014 draft looks better and better by the day, with Embiid looking like a franchise player and Saric looking like a steal in his own right. The versatile forward had 17 points, six assists and five rebounds against the Sacramento Kings on Monday, and it's nice to see him showing off his play-making skills more and more as the season has gone on.

4
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Willy Hernangomez New York Knicks C

Last week: No. 4

The Knicks can't seem to figure out what to do with Willy Hernangomez, but I have a suggestion: Play him! After getting only three minutes in their 142-39 quadruple-overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, Hernangomez started in place of the sick Kristaps Porzingis in their 117-101 loss to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. In a season-high 32 minutes, he had 15 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. The next night in a 93-88 win over the Nets, Hernangomez came off the bench and had 16 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 25 minutes.

5
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Jaylen Brown Boston Celtics F

Last week: Unranked

After that Magic game, Stevens said he has believed in Brown's shooting "from Day 1," adding that "he's going to be a good shooter because he puts in a lot of work." That's the biggest variable when it comes to Brown's future -- if he does become consistent from the outside, the threat of the shot is going to make it extremely difficult to keep him out of the paint.

6
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Ivica Zubac Los Angeles Lakers C

Last week: Unranked

Ivica Zubac showed promise in summer league and preseason, but has been out of the Lakers' rotation for most of the season, spending significant time with the NBA D-League's Los Angeles D-Fenders. The way he's played lately, though, it's going to be extremely hard to justify not playing him. In the Lakers' last three games, Zubac has averaged 15 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 54 percent, including an 8-for-9 night in a 120-116 win over the Nuggets. Los Angeles coach Luke Walton might even have to consider starting him soon.

7
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Yogi Ferrell Dallas Mavericks PG

Last week: Unranked

The Mavericks called up Yogi Ferrell from the D-League, and he immediately helped them beat two of the league's best teams. In his Mavs debut on Sunday, Ferrell had nine points and seven assists in a 105-101 victory over the Spurs. The next day, he had a career-high 19 points, five rebounds and three assists in a 104-97 win over the Cavaliers. It's impossible not to root for this point guard, and LeBron James probably wishes the Cavs had signed him.

8
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Jamal Murray Denver Nuggets SG

Last week: No. 8

Jamal Murray had a couple of forgettable games last week, but the combo guard bounced back by scoring 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting against the Suns and 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting against the Lakers. Murray went 4-from-8 from deep in Los Angeles, and that shooting ability is a big part of what the Nuggets were excited about when they drafted him. He's a much better pure shooter than his percentages would suggest.

9
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Isaiah Whitehead Brooklyn Nets PG

Last week: Unranked

Jeremy Lin's extended absence has obviously hurt the Nets, but the silver lining is that they've been able to give Sean Kilpatrick, Isaiah Whitehead and Spencer Dinwiddie more playmaking responsibility. Whitehead matched his career-high of eight assists Saturday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he's been one of Brooklyn's top bench scorers lately, too.

10
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Malcolm Brogdon Milwaukee Bucks SG

Last week: No. 3

Malcolm Brogdon hasn't been stuffing the stat sheet lately when compared to what he was doing around the new year with Matthew Dellavedova out of the lineup. Still, he's playing big minutes and handling the ball a fair bit for the Bucks, and his all-around competence means that he's not falling off this list unless he has an awful slump or an injury.