Rakeem Christmas recalled by Pacers, makes NBA D-League All-Star team

Rakeem Christmas had a pretty good Friday.

First, the Pacers recalled the rookie big man from his D-League assignment with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Then the NBA named Christmas to the D-League East All-Star team which will let him showcase his talents on NBA All-Star weekend in Toronto.

The D-League All-Star game will be played at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 13 and be broadcast on NBA TV. Christmas earned the invite by averaging 15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2 blocks in 25 games with the Mad Ants. To make the honor even more special, Frank Vogel shared the news with his Pacers teammates after practice on Friday, as Candace Buckner reported.

At end of practice today, Vogel called players around & announced the news Rakeem Christmas named to D-League All-Stars. Loud cheers ensued

— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) January 29, 2016

Christmas replaces fellow D-League assignee, Shayne Whittington in Indy over the weekend. Whittington went back to Fort Wayne after spending being recalled last Monday and spending the past two games with the Pacers.

Following the Pacers win over Atlanta on Thursday, Whittington sat at his locker in uniform, joking he wanted to leave his jersey on as long as he could before having to head back to Fort Wayne.