NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge

The NBA Skills Challenge, (Officially named The Taco Bell Skills Challenge) is a National Basketball Association (NBA) contest held on the Saturday before the annual All-Star Game as part of the All-Star Weekend. First held in 2003, it is a competition to test ball-handling, passing and shooting ability. In the current version of the contest, two participants race against each other on identical courses by first dribbling between five obstacles while running down the court. Next, the player must throw a pass into a net that does not touch the ground. Then, the players must dribble back the full length of the court for a lay up. Shortly after, the players must dribble back down the court and hit a three pointer from the top of the basketball key. The match ends when the first player hits the three pointer. Currently, the champion is decided via a single elimination tournament format, with a Guard and a Forward or Center guaranteed to face off in the final.

The current champion is Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Winners

Steve Nash (left), Dwyane Wade (center), and Damian Lillard (right) share the record for most titles won (2).
dagger Denotes players who are still active
Player(s) (#) Denotes the number of times the player has won
Team(s) (#) Denotes the number of times a player from this team has won
Season Player(s) Team(s) Time
2002–03 United States Kidd, JasonJason Kidd New Jersey Nets 35.1 seconds
2003–04 United States Davis, BaronBaron Davis New Orleans Hornets 31.6 seconds
2004–05 Canada Nash, SteveSteve Nash Phoenix Suns 25.8 seconds
2005–06 United States Wade, DwyaneDwyane Wade Miami Heat 26.1 seconds
2006–07 United States Wade, DwyaneDwyane Wade (2) Miami Heat (2) 26.4 seconds
2007–08 United States Williams, DeronDeron Williams Utah Jazz 25.5 seconds[a]
2008–09 United States Rose, DerrickDerrick Rose Chicago Bulls 35.3 seconds
2009–10 Canada Nash, SteveSteve Nash (2) Phoenix Suns (2) 29.9 seconds
2010–11 United States Curry, StephenStephen Curry Golden State Warriors 28.2 seconds
2011–12 France Parker, TonyTony Parker San Antonio Spurs 32.8 seconds
2012–13 United States Lillard, DamianDamian Lillard Portland Trail Blazers 29.8 seconds
2013–14 United States Lillard, DamianDamian Lillard (2)
United States Burke, TreyTrey Burke
Portland Trail Blazers (2)
Utah Jazz (2)
45.2 seconds
2014–15 United States Beverley, PatrickPatrick Beverley Houston Rockets
2015–16 Dominican Republic Towns, Karl-AnthonyKarl-Anthony Towns Minnesota Timberwolves

All-time participants

Player
(in bold text)
Indicates the winner of the contest
Player (#) Denotes the number of times the player has been in the contest
Year Players
2003Jason Kidd, Stephon Marbury, Tony Parker, Gary Payton
2004Earl Boykins, Baron Davis, Derek Fisher, Stephon Marbury (2)
2005Gilbert Arenas, Earl Boykins (2), Steve Nash, Luke Ridnour
2006LeBron James, Steve Nash (2), Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade
2007Kobe Bryant, LeBron James (2), Chris Paul (2), Dwyane Wade (2)
2008Jason Kidd (2), Chris Paul (3), Dwyane Wade (3), Deron Williams
2009Devin Harris, Jameer Nelson[b], Tony Parker (2), Derrick Rose, Mo Williams
2010Brandon Jennings, Steve Nash (3), Derrick Rose[c], Deron Williams (2), Russell Westbrook
2011Stephen Curry, Chris Paul (4), Derrick Rose (2), John Wall, Russell Westbrook (2)
2012Stephen Curry[d] (2), Kyrie Irving, Tony Parker (3), Rajon Rondo, John Wall (2), Russell Westbrook (3), Deron Williams (3)
2013Jrue Holiday, Brandon Knight, Damian Lillard, Jeremy Lin, Tony Parker (4), Jeff Teague
2014DeMar DeRozan/Giannis Antetokounmpo, Michael Carter-Williams/Victor Oladipo, Reggie Jackson/Goran Dragić, Damian Lillard (2)/Trey Burke[e]
2015(Isaiah Thomas vs. John Wall (3)[f], Patrick Beverley), (Michael Carter-Williams (2)[g], Robert Covington[g], Elfrid Payton vs. Jeff Teague (2)) vs. ((Trey Burke (2) vs. Brandon Knight (2)), (Jimmy Butler[h], Dennis Schröder vs. Kyle Lowry))[i]
2016(Jordan Clarkson vs. C.J. McCollum, Isaiah Thomas (2) vs. Patrick Beverley (2)[j], Emmanuel Mudiay) vs. (Draymond Green vs. Karl-Anthony Towns, DeMarcus Cousins vs. Anthony Davis)

Tournament Bracket (2015–present)

Starting with the 2015 edition of the Skills Challenge, a tournament format was adopted.

2015
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
Isaiah Thomas (Phoenix) X
Patrick Beverley (Houston) O
Patrick Beverley (Houston) O
Jeff Teague (Atlanta) X
Jeff Teague (Atlanta) O
Elfrid Payton (Orlando) X
Patrick Beverley (Houston) O
Brandon Knight (Milwaukee) X
Trey Burke (Utah) X
Brandon Knight (Milwaukee) O
Brandon Knight Milwaukee) O
Kyle Lowry (Toronto) X
Kyle Lowry (Toronto) O
Dennis Schröder (Atlanta) X
2016
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
C. J. McCollum (Portland) O
Jordan Clarkson (L.A. Lakers) X
C. J. McCollum (Portland) X
Isaiah Thomas (Boston) O
Isaiah Thomas (Boston) O
Emmanuel Mudiay (Denver) X
Isaiah Thomas (Boston) X
Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota) O
Draymond Green (Golden State) X
Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota) O
Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota) O
DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento) X
DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento) O
Anthony Davis (New Orleans) X

References

  1. NBA.com "Deron Williams to defend his Skills Challenge Record, 2010 All Star"

"Davis, Cousins give Taco Bell Skills Challenge new look". NBA.com. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016. 

External links

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