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 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.

Skills Challenge Competition 2016 Toronto

Currently, the champion is 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 and current champion Bam Adebayo in 2020.

Winners
Steve Nash (left), Dwyane Wade (center), and Damian Lillard (right) share the record for most titles won (2).
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 Jason Kidd New Jersey Nets 35.1 seconds
2003–04 Baron Davis New Orleans Hornets 31.6 seconds
2004–05 Steve Nash Phoenix Suns 25.8 seconds
2005–06 Dwyane Wade Miami Heat 26.1 seconds
2006–07 Dwyane Wade (2) Miami Heat (2) 26.4 seconds
2007–08 Deron Williams Utah Jazz 25.5 seconds[a]
2008–09 Derrick Rose Chicago Bulls 35.3 seconds
2009–10 Steve Nash (2) Phoenix Suns (2) 29.9 seconds
2010–11 Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors 28.2 seconds
2011–12 Tony Parker San Antonio Spurs 32.8 seconds
2012–13 Damian Lillard Portland Trail Blazers 29.8 seconds
2013–14 Damian Lillard (2)
Trey Burke		 Portland Trail Blazers (2)
Utah Jazz (2)		 45.2 seconds
2014–15 Patrick Beverley Houston Rockets —
2015–16 Karl-Anthony Towns Minnesota Timberwolves —
2016–17 Kristaps Porziņģis New York Knicks —
2017–18 Spencer Dinwiddie Brooklyn Nets (2) —
2018–19 Jayson Tatum Boston Celtics —
2019–20 Bam Adebayo Miami Heat (3) —

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))
2017((Gordon Hayward vs. John Wall (4)), (Devin Booker vs. Isaiah Thomas (3))) vs. ((DeMarcus Cousins (2) vs. Kristaps Porziņģis), (Joel Embiid[k], Nikola Jokić vs. Anthony Davis (2)))
2018((Al Horford vs. Joel Embiid (2)), (Kristaps Porziņģis (2)[l], Andre Drummond vs. Lauri Markkanen)) vs. ((Spencer Dinwiddie vs. Donovan Mitchell[m], Buddy Hield), (Jamal Murray vs. Lou Williams))
2019((Nikola Jokić (2) vs. Nikola Vučević), (Mike Conley Jr. vs. Jayson Tatum)) vs. ((De'Aaron Fox vs. Trae Young), (Luka Dončić vs. Kyle Kuzma))
2020((Spencer Dinwiddie (2) vs. Bam Adebayo), (Patrick Beverley (3) vs. Pascal Siakam)) vs. ((Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Khris Middleton), (Jayson Tatum (2) vs. Domantas Sabonis))
  • a The time is the all-time event record.[2]
  • 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–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
2017
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
2018
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
2019
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
2020
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

Sponsors
Season Sponsor
2002–03989 Sports
2003–04989 Sports
2004–05PlayStation
2005–06PlayStation
2006–07PlayStation
2007–08PlayStation
2008–09PlayStation
2009–10Taco Bell
2010–11Taco Bell
2011–12Taco Bell
2012–13Taco Bell
2013–14Taco Bell
2014–15Taco Bell
2015–16Taco Bell
2016–17Taco Bell
2017–18Taco Bell
2018–19Taco Bell
2019–20Taco Bell

References
  1. Stepping up for the big men, Towns wins the Skills Challenge by Kyle Ratke Minnesota Timberwolves
  2. NBA.com "Deron Williams to defend his Skills Challenge Record, 2010 All Star"

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

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