NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge
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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 center guaranteed to face off in the final.
The current champion is Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets.
Winners
 |
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 |  |
New Jersey Nets | 35.1 seconds |
| 2003–04 | |
New Orleans Hornets | 31.6 seconds |
| 2004–05 |  |
Phoenix Suns | 25.8 seconds |
| 2005–06 | |
Miami Heat | 26.1 seconds |
| 2006–07 | |
Miami Heat (2) | 26.4 seconds |
| 2007–08 | |
Utah Jazz | 25.5 seconds[a] |
| 2008–09 | |
Chicago Bulls | 35.3 seconds |
| 2009–10 | |
Phoenix Suns (2) | 29.9 seconds |
| 2010–11 | |
Golden State Warriors | 28.2 seconds |
| 2011–12 |  |
San Antonio Spurs | 32.8 seconds |
| 2012–13 | |
Portland Trail Blazers | 29.8 seconds |
| 2013–14 | |
Portland Trail Blazers (2) Utah Jazz (2) |
45.2 seconds |
| 2014–15 | |
Houston Rockets | — |
| 2015–16 |  |
Minnesota Timberwolves | — |
| 2016–17 |  |
New York Knicks | — |
| 2017–18 | |
Brooklyn Nets (2) | — |
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 |
- a The time is the all-time event record.[1]
- 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.
| 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 | ||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||
References
"Davis, Cousins give Taco Bell Skills Challenge new look". NBA.com. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.