SALT LAKE CITY —Donovan Mitchell may have opted out of defending his Slam Dunk Contest title at this year’s All-Star Weekend in Charlotte, but he’ll still be making an appearance.

The second-year star was chosen to participate in the NBA’s Rising Stars Challenge on Feb. 15 at the Spectrum Center.

Mitchell will be joined by such players as Ben Simmons, Kyle Kuzma, Luka Doncic and Lonzo Ball.

Boston's Kyrie Irving (U.S. Team) and Dallas's Dirk Nowitzki (World Team) will serve as honorary coaches.

Mitchell tallied seven points (3-10 FG, 1-6 3Pt), seven assists, two rebounds, five steals and two blocks in last year’s Rising Stars Challenge in Los Angeles. He provided a small preview of his Dunk Contest performance during that game by throwing an alley-oop off the backboard to himself for a tomahawk slam.

Mitchell chose to forgo this year’s dunk contest so he would be better rested for the stretch run of the season.

“For me, it’s tough because it’s my favorite event in the entire weekend,” Mitchell said earlier this month. “But I just wanted to be ready mentally and physically for my team. Obviously, with the year we’ve had, we haven’t really taken off from the beginning like we thought we would. So we need this second half of the season. For me and my teammates, I think it would be better if I were to rest and be mentally focused for the second half.”

Said Jazz coach Quin Snyder: “All-Star break is a time to recharge, however you do that. That’s what we need to do.”

Jazz laugh at commercials

Kyle Korver hasn’t seen them, but he’s made a mental note to go search out his teammate’s recent string of Vivint Smart Home commercials.

He’s in for a treat. Among the commercials, there’s a singing Ricky Rubio, a Rudy Gobert who collects paintings — of himself and a cat-loving Donovan Mitchell.

“It’s a talent,” Gobert said. “I try to make it funny. It’s fun. They did a great job setting up everything.”

There are three commercials (so far at least). One features Mitchell trying to convince his teammates he’s not a “cat guy.” One shows Gobert’s wall of paintings of himself. And the one released this week features the secret pop star life of Rubio.

“Everyone was laughing with his hair being down and singing,” said Royce O’Neale, who appeared in the most recent ad. “It was a fun commercial. I think I’m a better actor than that — they only gave me a small part.”

So what will his next role be?

“Maybe I’ll be an action hero, come save the day — who knows,” O'Neale said.

Depending on what he searches, Korver might just stumble upon his own commercial he shot when he was playing in Utah for the first time. Korver did a commercial for the now-defunct Evo Energy Drink — and it’s funny in a slightly different way than Rubio’s now famous, “Meow.”

“'Yeah, I’ll shoot a commercial. Sure, Energy drink, come on,'" Korver said. "I was just running through the mountains."

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