Watch All-Star Weekend, featuring the All-Star Game, Slam Dunk Contest, Rising Stars Challenge and Three-Point Contest, live on Sky Sports Arena
Sunday 17 February 2019 03:41, UK
Ahead of Sunday's All-Star game, there is plenty to watch on the All-Star Saturday Night with the Skills Challenge, Three-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Competition to be held at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
First-time NBA All-Stars Nikola Jokic and Nikola Vucevic are among the eight competitors who will take on the Skills Challenge on Saturday - a three-round obstacle course that tests dribbling, passing, agility and three-point shooting skills.
The event is a head-to-head, knockout tournament format where two players compete simultaneously on identical courses and the fastest finisher reaches the next round. Eight players begin the competition and that is eventually whittled down to the final two.
Click on the video below to see a recap of the 2017 event, when Kristaps Porzingis claimed the title.
With Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets unable to defend his 2018 title due to injury, here are the eight participants this year.
Mike Conley, Grizzlies
Conley (20.3 ppg, 6.3 apg) is averaging at least 20.0 points and 6.0 assists for the second time in the last three seasons. He is a two-time winner of the NBA Sportsmanship Award.
Luka Doncic, Mavericks
Doncic (20.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 5.4 apg) has won all three Kia NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards this season. The only rookie to reach Doncic's current averages in points, rebounds and assists for a full season is Oscar Robertson in 1960-61.
De'Aaron Fox, Kings
One of the NBA's fastest players, Fox is averaging 17.5 points and a team-high 7.2 assists (ninth in the NBA) - up from 11.6 points and 4.4 assists as a rookie last season. He has already made more three-pointers this season (56) than he did in his entire first campaign (47).
Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
The seven-foot center from Serbia leads Denver with averages of 20.1 points, 10.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists (sixth in the NBA). He ranks second in the NBA in triple-doubles with nine.
Kyle Kuzma, Lakers
Kuzma (18.8 ppg) is the third-leading scorer among second-year NBA players and paces the Lakers in three-pointers made with 91. He was a 2017-18 NBA All-Rookie First Team selection.
Jayson Tatum, Celtics
Tatum is Boston's No. 2 scorer (16.1 ppg) and rebounder (6.2 rpg). The 2017-18 NBA All-Rookie First Team selection has shot 40.4 per cent from three-point range over two seasons.
Nikola Vucevic, Magic
A first-time All-Star in his eighth season, Vucevic is averaging career highs of 20.7 points, 12.0 rebounds (10th in the NBA) and 3.8 assists. The 7-foot Montenegrin center is shooting a career-high 37.8 per cent from three-point range.
Trae Young, Hawks
The Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for October/November and January leads all first-year NBA players in assists (7.4 apg) and ranks second in scoring (16.8 ppg). He is averaging 24.0 points and 8.5 assists in his last six games.
The Three-Point Contest is a two-round, timed competition with five shooting locations positioned around the arc. Four racks contain four NBA regulation balls (each worth one point) and one multicolored "money" ball (worth two points).
The fifth rack is a special "all money ball" rack, which each participant can place at any of the five locations. Every ball on this rack is worth two points.
The players have one minute to shoot as many of the 25 balls as they can. The three competitors with the highest scores in the first round advance to the championship round. The player with the highest score in the championship round is the winner.
Expanding to 10 players this year, the Three-Point Contest features the Curry brothers, defending champion Devin Booker and Dirk Nowitzki.
Here's the lowdown on the 10 competitors...
Devin Booker, Suns
In addition to winning last year's Three-Point Contest with a record 28-point final round, Booker reached the final round of the 2016 event as a rookie. On January 24, the 22-year-old guard became the fifth-youngest player in NBA history to score 5,000 career points.
Seth Curry, Trail Blazers
In his first season with Portland, the younger Curry brother is shooting an NBA-high 48.5 per cent from three-point range.
Stephen Curry, Warriors
An NBA All-Star Game starter for the sixth consecutive year, the two-time MVP ranks third on the all-time list for three-pointers made (2,344). With 215 three-pointers this season, he has become the first player in NBA history to make at least 200 threes in seven straight seasons.
Danny Green, Raptors
Green, who is shooting 42.0 per cent from three-point range this season, shares the record for most three-pointers made without a miss in an NBA Finals game (five).
Joe Harris, Nets
A full-time NBA starter for the first time in his five seasons, Harris ranks fourth in the league in three-point field goal percentage (45.3) while averaging a career-high 13.3 points.
Buddy Hield, Kings
The Bahamian guard ranks third in the NBA in three-point field percentage (45.9) and fourth in three-pointers made (183) while averaging a career-high 20.4 points in his third season.
Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers
Lillard has made a three-pointer in 60 consecutive regular-season games, the longest active streak in the NBA. An NBA All-Star for the fourth time, Lillard set a Portland team record with 10 three-pointers against the Orlando Magic on November 28.
Khris Middleton, Bucks
The first-time NBA All-Star is averaging a career-high 2.3 three-pointers made per game. He is the first player to play in the NBA G League before becoming an NBA All-Star.
Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks
This marks the first Three-Point Contest appearance in 11 years for Nowitzki, who made his event debut in 2000 and was crowned champion in 2006. He ranks 11th on the NBA's all-time three-pointers made list (1,935). Playing his record-tying 21st NBA season, Nowitzki was selected by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to play in the 2019 All-Star Game as a special roster addition.
Kemba Walker, Hornets
Walker has made the fifth-most three-pointers in the NBA this season (165). The Hornets' franchise leader in points and three-pointers made has been selected to his third All-Star Game in a row and named a starter for the first time.
In this two-round event, participants can perform any dunk they choose. The players have a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in both the first round and the final round. Five judges score every dunk on a scale of 6 to 10, resulting in a high score of 50 and a low score of 30.
All four competitors get two dunks in the first round. The two players with the highest combined score for their two dunks advance to the head-to-head final round. The player with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round is crowned the champion.
Here are the four competitors for the Slam Dunk...
Miles Bridges, Hornets
Competing in his home arena, the 6-7 forward is the Hornets' first Slam Dunk participant since 2010 (Gerald Wallace). Bridges, the 12th overall pick in NBA Draft 2018 presented by State Farm, has 12 double-digit scoring games this season.
John Collins, Hawks
Collins leads Atlanta in scoring (19.6 ppg) and rebounding (10.0 rpg) and ranks ninth in the NBA in field goal percentage (58.4). Collins is Atlanta's first Slam Dunk competitor since 2006 (Josh Smith).
Hamidou Diallo, Thunder
Diallo, a 6-5 guard, recorded a 44.5-inch maximum vertical jump at the 2017 NBA Draft Combine, the second-highest mark in event history. He is the Thunder's first Slam Dunk participant since 2011 (Serge Ibaka).
Dennis Smith Jr., Knicks
Smith returns to Slam Dunk after finishing third last season. The 6-3 guard, who was acquired by New York in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks on January 31, is averaging 12.8 points and 4.4 assists per game. Smith is the Knicks' first Slam Dunk competitor since 2013 (James White).
