NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge

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 passing, ball-handling and shooting ability. In the current version of the contest, a participant first shoots a layup. After dribbling between three obstacles, the player must throw a pass into a first net that does not touch the ground. Then, the player shoots a jump shot from 20 feet from the basket. Next, the player must dribble between two more obstacles before passing off to his teammate who repeats the process. When all of these tasks are completed successfully, the timer is stopped. The team with the fastest time from the East faces the team with the fastest time from the West in the final round.

The current champion is Patrick Beverley of the Houston Rockets.

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 {{sortname|Stephen|Curry|Stephen Curry (basketball)} 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

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
Season Players
2002–03Jason Kidd, Stephon Marbury, Tony Parker, Gary Payton
2003–04Earl Boykins, Baron Davis, Derek Fisher, Stephon Marbury (2)
2004–05Gilbert Arenas, Earl Boykins (2), Steve Nash, Luke Ridnour
2005–06LeBron James, Steve Nash (2), Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade
2006–07Kobe Bryant, LeBron James (2), Chris Paul (2), Dwyane Wade (2)
2007–08Jason Kidd (2), Chris Paul (3), Dwyane Wade (3), Deron Williams
2008–09Devin Harris, Jameer Nelson[b], Tony Parker (2), Derrick Rose, Mo Williams
2009–10Brandon Jennings, Steve Nash (3), Derrick Rose[c], Deron Williams (2), Russell Westbrook
2010–11Stephen Curry, Chris Paul (4), Derrick Rose (2), John Wall, Russell Westbrook (2)
2011–12Stephen Curry[d] (2), Kyrie Irving, Tony Parker (3), Rajon Rondo, John Wall (2), Russell Westbrook (3), Deron Williams (3)
2012–13Jrue Holiday, Brandon Knight, Damian Lillard, Jeremy Lin, Tony Parker (4), Jeff Teague
2013–14DeMar DeRozan/Giannis Antetokounmpo, Michael Carter-Williams/Victor Oladipo, Reggie Jackson/Goran Dragić, Damian Lillard (2)/Trey Burke[e]
2014–15((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]

2014-15

A tournament format was adopted for this year.

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
1 Isaiah Thomas (Phoenix) X
8 Patrick Beverley (Houston) O
Patrick Beverley (Houston) O
Jeff Teague (Atlanta) X
5 Jeff Teague (Atlanta) O
4 Elfrid Payton (Orlando) X
Patrick Beverley (Houston) O
Brandon Knight (Milwaukee) X
3 Trey Burke (Utah) X
6 Brandon Knight (Milwaukee) O
Brandon Knight Milwaukee) O
Kyle Lowry (Toronto) X
7 Kyle Lowry (Toronto) O
2 Dennis Schröder (Atlanta) X

References

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

External links