Saturday of NBA All-Star weekend is always one of the more fun evenings of the sports year. It’s the greatest talents in the sport competing against each other on one stage with some of the biggest stars showing off their unbelievable skillsets.
Sixer fans can pay particular attention to Michael Carter-Williams in the Skills Competition. It will be one of four events on the evening, along with the Shooting Stars, Three-Point Shooting Contest and of course, the Dunk Contest.
Here is what you need to know for each event, including the new rules to the revised Dunk Contest. And if anyone asks you, “What is Damian Lillard not doing?” here is the answer below.
Shooting Challenge:
- Objective—make four shots from the following locations:
- 10’ shot on strong side
- 19’9” shot from the top of the key
- NBA three from left wing
- Half-court shot
- Teams: (comprised of one NBA player, one “legend”, or former NBA star, and one WNBA player.
- Eastern Conference:
- Team 1: Tim Hardaway Jr. (New York Knicks); Tim Hardaway Sr. (Legend); Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky)
- Team 2: Chris Bosh (Miami Heat); Dominique Wilkins (Legend); Swin Cash (Chicago Sky)
- Western Conference:
- Team 1: Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Dell Curry (Legend); Becky Hammon (San Antonio Stars)
- Team 2: Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Karl Malone (Legend); Skylar Diggins (Tulsa Shock)
- Process:
- Teams get 90 seconds to complete challenge
- Time in which they finish will be their “score”
- Top team from each conference will meet and replay the challenge to determine the champion.
Skills Challenge:
- Objective—be the quickest duo to complete obstacle course-style challenge. Tests each player’s shooting, passing and ball-handling abilities.
- Teams:
- Eastern Conference:
- Team 1: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) and DeMar DeRozan (Raptors)
- Team 2: MCW (Sixers) and Victor Oladipo (Magic)
- Western Conference:
- Team 1: Trey Burke (Jazz) and Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)
- Team 2: Goran Dragic (Suns) and Reggie Jackson (Thunder)
- Process:
- Each team goes through the course
- Quickest duos from each conference go head-to-head for championship round.
Three-Point Contest:
- Objective: Make as many three-point baskets in 60 seconds.
- Scoring/Set-up:
- Five racks of five balls scattered around the arc
- First four balls are worth one point and fifth ball, or “Money Ball” is worth two points.
- Players can designate an entire rack as “Money Balls”, with each of the five balls counting for two points if made.
- Participants:
- Aaron Afflalo (Magic)
- Bradley Beal (Wizards)
- Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers)
- Joe Johnson (Nets)
- Marco Belinelli (Spurs)
- Stephen Curry (Warriors)
- Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)
- Kevin Love (Timberwolves)
- Process:
- Each player shoots for 60 seconds, one-by-one
- The top shooter with the highest score from each conference meet, with the player with the lowest score shooting first.
Dunk Contest:
- Objective: Showcase your talent and creativity by coming up with the most impressive dunks to collect the most votes from fans.
- Scoring & Process:
- The contest is completely different this year with new rules. Here is the release from the NBA, explaining them:
“This year's event will feature the participants competing as a team — three players representing the Eastern Conference and three players representing the Western Conference — in an above-the-rim two-round format. In a significant first in the event's history, the competition will tip off with a Freestyle Round where the dunkers for each conference will have 90 seconds to showcase as many dunks as they want. At the conclusion of the Freestyle Round, the panel of judges will then choose a winner by voting "East" or "West." The winning conference will earn the advantage of deciding whether its dunkers will dunk first or second in the head-to-head battles that take place in the Battle Round.
The Battle Round will feature head-to-head matchups pitting East dunkers vs. West dunkers, with the judges choosing a winner for each battle. Upon losing a head-to-head battle, that dunker is then eliminated from the competition. The first team to win three battles will win the competition and be crowned 2014 Sprite Slam Dunk champion."
- Participants:
- Eastern Conference:
- Paul George (Pacers)
- Terrance Ross (Raptors)
- John Wall (Wizards)
- Western Conference:
- Harrison Barnes (Warriors)
- Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)
- Ben McLemore (Kings)
