The NBA Skills Challenge (officially named the Kia 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.
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Until the 2022 edition, two participants raced 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 an upright hoop. 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. The champion was decided via a single elimination tournament format, with a guard and a frontcourt player guaranteed to face off in the final round. Frontcourt players were first allowed and invited to participate in 2016, and the event has since crowned centers and forwards as winners, beginning with Karl-Anthony Towns that year[1] and followed by Kristaps Porziņģis in 2017, Bam Adebayo in 2020, and Domantas Sabonis in 2021.
In the current format, used since 2022, three teams participate in a four-round competition. One of the teams competing is always composed of players from the host team. The first round is identical to previous editions, this time as a team relay, with the fastest team earning 100 points. The second round is a passing challenge where players must pass the ball through different targets, with the highest-scoring team also earning 100 points. The third round is a shooting challenge where players must make field goals from different spots, with the highest-scoring team earning 200 points. The two highest-scoring teams overall advance to the final round, which is a half-court shootout, where the fastest team to make a field goal from the half-court line wins the entire skills challenge.[2] The format was slightly altered in 2023, with the challenge now ending after three rounds. The order of the first three rounds is reversed and the half-court shootout becomes a tiebreaker round. The current champions are Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner, and Bennedict Mathurin from the Team Pacers in 2024.
Winners
edit
| † | 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 |
All-time participants
edit| Player (in bold text) |
Indicates the winner of the contest |
| Player (#) | Denotes the number of times the player has been in the contest |
- a The time is the all-time event record.[3]
- b Jameer Nelson was injured and was replaced by Mo Williams.
- c Derrick Rose was injured and was replaced by Russell Westbrook.
- d Stephen Curry was injured and was replaced by Rajon Rondo.
- e For the 2013–14 season, the NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge was revamped to have 4 teams of two players compete to a two-round time relay-style course.
- f John Wall was replaced by Patrick Beverley due to resting purposes.
- g Michael Carter-Williams was replaced with his teammate Robert Covington due to injuries. Covington would be replaced by Elfrid Payton due to resting purposes.
- h Jimmy Butler was replaced by Dennis Schröder due to a shoulder injury.
- i Starting with the 2014–15 season, the NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge was revamped to a best of 8 tournament where after 8 players competed in the first round, only 4 would go to the semi-final round and 2 would participate in the championship round.
- j Defending champion Patrick Beverley would be replaced by rookie Emmanuel Mudiay due to an ankle injury.
- k Joel Embiid was replaced by Nikola Jokić due to a knee injury.
- l Kristaps Porziņģis was replaced by Andre Drummond due to a torn ACL injury.
- m Donovan Mitchell was replaced by Buddy Hield after Mitchell replaced Aaron Gordon for the Slam Dunk Contest.
Tournament Bracket (2015–2021)
editStarting with the 2015 edition of the Skills Challenge, a tournament format was adopted.
| 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 | |||||||||||||
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| CJ McCollum (Portland) | O | |||||||||||||
| Jordan Clarkson (L.A. Lakers) | X | |||||||||||||
| CJ 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 | |||||||||||||
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| John Wall (Washington) | X | |||||||||||||
| Gordon Hayward (Utah) | O | |||||||||||||
| Gordon Hayward (Utah) | O | |||||||||||||
| Isaiah Thomas (Boston) | X | |||||||||||||
| Isaiah Thomas (Boston) | O | |||||||||||||
| Devin Booker (Phoenix) | X | |||||||||||||
| Gordon Hayward (Utah) | X | |||||||||||||
| Kristaps Porziņģis (New York) | O | |||||||||||||
| DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento) | X | |||||||||||||
| Kristaps Porziņģis (New York) | O | |||||||||||||
| Kristaps Porziņģis (New York) | O | |||||||||||||
| Nikola Jokić (Denver) | X | |||||||||||||
| Anthony Davis (New Orleans) | X | |||||||||||||
| Nikola Jokić (Denver) | O | |||||||||||||
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Spencer Dinwiddie (Brooklyn) | O | |||||||||||||
| Buddy Hield (Sacramento) | X | |||||||||||||
| Spencer Dinwiddie (Brooklyn) | O | |||||||||||||
| Jamal Murray (Denver) | X | |||||||||||||
| Jamal Murray (Denver) | O | |||||||||||||
| Lou Williams (LA Clippers) | X | |||||||||||||
| Spencer Dinwiddie (Brooklyn) | O | |||||||||||||
| Lauri Markkanen (Chicago) | X | |||||||||||||
| Al Horford (Boston) | X | |||||||||||||
| Joel Embiid (Philadelphia) | O | |||||||||||||
| Joel Embiid (Philadelphia) | X | |||||||||||||
| Lauri Markkanen (Chicago) | O | |||||||||||||
| Lauri Markkanen (Chicago) | O | |||||||||||||
| Andre Drummond (Detroit) | X | |||||||||||||
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Nikola Jokić (Denver) | O | |||||||||||||
| Nikola Vučević (Orlando) | X | |||||||||||||
| Nikola Jokić (Denver) | X | |||||||||||||
| Jayson Tatum (Boston) | O | |||||||||||||
| Mike Conley Jr. (Memphis) | X | |||||||||||||
| Jayson Tatum (Boston) | O | |||||||||||||
| Jayson Tatum (Boston) | O | |||||||||||||
| Trae Young (Atlanta) | X | |||||||||||||
| De'Aaron Fox (Sacramento) | X | |||||||||||||
| Trae Young (Atlanta) | O | |||||||||||||
| Trae Young (Atlanta) | O | |||||||||||||
| Luka Dončić (Dallas) | X | |||||||||||||
| Luka Dončić (Dallas) | O | |||||||||||||
| Kyle Kuzma (LA Lakers) | X | |||||||||||||
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Spencer Dinwiddie (Brooklyn) | X | |||||||||||||
| Bam Adebayo (Miami) | O | |||||||||||||
| Bam Adebayo (Miami) | O | |||||||||||||
| Pascal Siakam (Toronto) | X | |||||||||||||
| Patrick Beverley (LA Clippers) | X | |||||||||||||
| Pascal Siakam (Toronto) | O | |||||||||||||
| Bam Adebayo (Miami) | O | |||||||||||||
| Domantas Sabonis (Indiana) | X | |||||||||||||
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City) | X | |||||||||||||
| Khris Middleton (Milwaukee) | O | |||||||||||||
| Khris Middleton (Milwaukee) | X | |||||||||||||
| Domantas Sabonis (Indiana) | O | |||||||||||||
| Jayson Tatum (Boston) | X | |||||||||||||
| Domantas Sabonis (Indiana) | O | |||||||||||||
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Domantas Sabonis (Indiana) | O | |||||||||||||
| Domantas Sabonis (Indiana) | O | Luka Dončić (Dallas) | X | |||||||||||
| Julius Randle (New York) | X | Domantas Sabonis (Indiana) | O | |||||||||||
| Nikola Vučević (Orlando) | X | |||||||||||||
| Nikola Vučević (Orlando) | O | |||||||||||||
| Nikola Vučević (Orlando) | O | Chris Paul (Phoenix) | X | |||||||||||
| Robert Covington (Portland) | X | |||||||||||||
Sponsors
editNotes
edit- ^ Jordan Clarkson was born in the United States but naturalized Filipino. He represents the Philippines in international games.
References
edit- ^ Stepping up for the big men, Towns wins the Skills Challenge by Kyle Ratke Minnesota Timberwolves
- ^ "NBA All-Star Skills Challenge: Explaining new format, rules". February 19, 2022.
- ^ NBA.com "Deron Williams to defend his Skills Challenge Record, 2010 All Star"
