Heatcheck pundits on All-Star Saturday: Predictions for Skills Challenge, 3-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest
Watch the remaining two nights of NBA All-Star Weekend live on Sky Sports – beginning Saturday night at 11.30pm, Sunday night at 11pm across Sky Sports Arena and joined on Main Event
Sunday 20 February 2022 03:07, UK
In terms of sizzle, it's the absolute hottest night on the NBA calendar in terms of the bedazzling array of skills the world's best basketball players are about to bestow on a global audience.
NBA All-Star Weekend is the time that flair comes to the fore, and perhaps even more than the All-Star Game itself, the Saturday night festivities – incorporating the NBA Skills Challenge, Slam Dunk Contest and 3-Point Contest – is the time that the ridiculous skill levels of these supremely talented athletes becomes most readily apparent.
The skills challenge tests a vast array of skills needed to be a success in the greatest league in the world, the 3-point contest sees the sharpest shooters on the planet showing off their swish and the dunk contest essentially affords human beings the chance to find creative ways to defy gravity.
It's just a little bit insane – and massively entertaining.
Our Sky Sports Heatcheck crew of former All-Star and three-time NBA champion BJ Armstrong, professional pundit and player Ovie Soko and The Hoop Genius himself Mo Mooncey have been giving their predictions for all three events tonight.
Who wins the Taco Bell Skills Challenge?
Under the new format for the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, three teams of three players will participate in a four-round competition that tests shooting, passing and dribbling ability. The teams are as follows:
- Antetokounmpo Bros: Giannis will team up with his brothers Thanasis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee and Alex Antetokounmpo of the NBA G League's Raptors 905.
- The Young Cavs: Garland will be joined by Cavaliers teammates Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, a rookie who was selected to play in the Clorox Rising Stars during NBA All-Star 2022.
- The Rookies: Rising Stars selections Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors, Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons and Josh Giddey of the Oklahoma City Thunder will form a team with three NBA rookies.
Each of the three teams will compete in the first three rounds of the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. The two teams with the most "Challenge Points" after the first three rounds will advance to the Final Round. Challenge Points are earned by winning each of the first three rounds.
The two teams that advance to the Final Round will compete one at a time and all players on each team will participate in trying to make a half-court shot. The team that makes a half-court shot in the fastest time will win the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. In the case of a tie, the two teams will repeat the Final Round.
Mo Mooncey says: The Rookies
"I love that they're changing the format a little bit. Now, it's going to be three rounds: shooting, passing, a relay, and then the final round that is going to be a half-court shot between two teams. I love this because we're now in the era of positionless basketball and you've got to see the versatility of what all these guys can bring.
"I love that they've got the guard Darius Garland, Evan Mobley who embodies positionless basketball and, of course, Jarrett Allen showing that the big man can get it going – because if you look back at recent years, the big men have actually been really successful in the skills competition.
"Then I love Giannis Antetokounmpo bringing the family along, calling his brother up from the G-League to go along with his teammate, Thanasis. Then, [you've got] the rookies, they're always going to be hungry, and they're going have something to prove.
"I'm going for the rookies. Give me the young guns. I think, Josh Giddey, you saw him at MSG with a triple-double, Scottie Barnes is going to be representing Toronto there. So, I think the rookies."
Ovie Soko says: The Young Cavs
"I'm going to go with the Cavs young guns. They seem like they're on a roll, they seem like they've got a point to prove this year, and I don't know why they would stop at All-Star Weekend so I'm going to go with the Cavs."
BJ Armstrong says: Antetokounmpo Bros
"I've participated in this event and it always comes down to one shot: who's going to make that half-court shot? I'm going to with Giannis, he is carrying everyone. He's carrying the Bucks, he's carrying the franchise and carrying the league – and now he's carrying his brothers. Give this guy a break! I'm going to support him just so I can give him a little break. I'll go with Giannis. I call him 'the G man' because he's a grown man. [We've all picked differently so] one of us is guaranteed to win over All-Star Weekend!"
Who wins MTN Dew 3-Point Contest?
NBA All-Stars Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls, Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks headline the 2022 MTN DEW 3-Point Contest, which is the second event of Saturday night.
The eight-player field for the two-round, timed shooting competition also features guard Desmond Bane of the Memphis Grizzlies, guard Luke Kennard of the LA Clippers, guard CJ McCollum of the New Orleans Pelicans and guard Patty Mills of the Brooklyn Nets.
Mo Mooncey says: Fred VanVleet
"Originally, my thoughts were going with Desmond Bane, the underdog, the hungry one; the young, up, Grizzly, because, you know, he's got a point to prove against every team that passed him in the draft.
"But then I thought 'Hold on a minute! There's another player who got passed on by everybody in the draft'. So I'm rolling with steady-Freddy, NBA champion Fred VanVleet. He's been lights-out this season from behind the arc and I believe that he can bring it to the 3-Point Contest this season, because he's been making shots with defenders all over him.
"Now, there aren't any defenders in his way. He's going to be able to make every bucket that he wants right now. He's second in the league in made 3-pointers, just behind Steph Curry. He's one of only two players to make more than 200 threes this season so far, so give me steady Freddie. I think he's gonna do it!"
Ovie Soko says: CJ McCollum
"I want to say 'Ice Trae', I want to say Trae (Young) but I feel like he might underperform.
"[Instead] I'm going CJ McCollum. Dark Horse."
BJ Armstrong says: Patty Mills
"I want to see Desmond Bane to win this because I want to see Ja Morant's reaction. I just want to see his reaction because that to me would be great theatre, great TV, and great content.
"However, guys, as I look at this, you know, being a participant in this a couple times in my career, I think Patty Mills is going to win this. I think he shoots with the least amount of effort and as you start going into the rounds he will probably get better in the way he plays.
"When you think about it, he's probably one of the only players that really doesn't shoot off the dribble. So, I think this will match what he does and more importantly, I think he has the experience to do it. So, I'm going to give it to Patty Mills – I would love to see Desmond Bane, and I would love to see Ja Morant going crazy because you know the cameras are going to follow him all weekend – but I'm going to give the edge, in the end, 19-17 to Patty Mills, and Australia."
Who will win the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest?
Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony, Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green, New York Knicks forward Obi Toppin and Golden State Warriors forward Juan Toscano-Anderson will take flight in the 2022 AT&T Slam Dunk Contest, the final event on Saturday night.
A first-time champion will be crowned as Anthony, Green and Toscano-Anderson are set to make their event debuts, and Toppin returns for his second appearance after finishing as the runner-up last year.
All four competitors will get two dunks in the first round. The two players with the highest combined score for their two dunks will advance to the final round. The two finalists will then get two dunks in the final round. The dunker with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round will be crowned the 2022 AT&T Slam Dunk champion. For each scored dunk in both rounds, each player will be limited to three attempts to complete his dunk.
BJ Armstrong says: Obi Toppin
"I was looking for LeBron! When is LeBron James going to finally be in the dunk contest?
"But I'm going with my guy in New York City, Obi Toppin. I think Jalen Green is going to do something just out of this world, something we can't even think of, but I think Obi Toppin is going to complete it.
"This guy is a dunking machine. He has the flair. He has the power. He has the creativity. He's doing this in the game, guys. So I think Obi is going to bring the trophy back to NYC."
Mo Mooncey says: Jalen Green
"I'm a big fan of Obi Toppin but he's at a disadvantage in the dunk contest, because in the dunk contest is harder for taller players to win the competition, just simply because it doesn't look as impressive as perhaps a guy that's a little bit shorter than them jumping in and doing the same done. And Obi was there last year and couldn't get it done.
"I'm going to go with Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets for this one. The reason being: the dunk contest is a fun competition. The Houston Rockets this season, they're all about fun. They're not serious. They're not serious candidates, they just have fun.
"I watched as Kevin Porter Jr. ordered a new set of grills from a jeweller during a timeout last while on the bench for the Houston Rockets. This team is not worried about winning games so their practice sessions, they've probably been practicing dunks for months! So, I'm going to go with Jalen Green. I think he's got the leaping ability and he's got the creativity, I think he could pull something out of the bag here."
Ovie Soko says: Juan Toscano-Anderson
"I'm going to go with Juan Toscano-Anderson, for two reasons. First reason: I think it means the most to him. I think all of these other guys, they've all been drafted, I think that they're comfortable.
"He's an undrafted guy. He got a shot with Golden State, came up through their G-League team - and he saw and carved out a space for himself. I think an event like this will be really special to him.
"And second reason: that's my guy, man. I feel like if I choose someone else, yeah, I'm not going to hear the end of it. So, yeah, I'm going with Juan Toscano-Anderson."
Watch the remaining two nights of NBA All-Star Weekend live on Sky Sports - beginning Saturday night at 11.30pm, Sunday night at 11pm across Sky Sports Arena and joined on Main Event.
