The 2021-22 NBA season at winding down, and that means it’s time for the All-Star break. Before the All-Star game is played, some of the top players will take part in the skills challenge, three-point contest and slam dunk competition. NBA All-Star Saturday Night will start at 8 p.m. ET and will air on TNT.
The Taco Bell Skills Challenge consists of four rounds with three teams. Each team has three players, and the rounds focus on team shooting, team passing, team relay and the half-court shot. The top two teams with the most “Challenge Points” after three rounds will advance to the final round. The teams competing in the skills challenge are Team Rooks, Team Antetokounpos and Team Cavs. The Rooks include Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors, Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons and Josh Giddey of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Team Antetokounmpos include the three Antetookounmpo brothers, Giannis and Thansis of the Milwaukee Bucks and Alex of Raptors905. And the Cavs are three members of the Cleveland Cavaliers — Jarrett Allen Darius Garland and Evan Mobley.
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The Mountain Dew 3-Point Contest is a fan favorite as eight players compete to see who is the best three-point shooting. The eight players participating are Patty Mills (Brooklyn Nets), Luke Kennard (LA Clippers), Fred VanVleet (Toronto Raptors), Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves) Desmond Bane (Memphis Grizzlies) Zach Lavine (Chicago Bulls), CJ McCollum (New Orleans Pelicans) and Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks).
“Growing up where I grew up, there were a lot of white kids around,” Young said, who grew up in Norman, Okla, per The Undefeated. “I was told that I had to be two times better and [that] they would get recognition before a Black kid. That was the way my grandparents raised me, to think about when I grew up. That was my mindset. That was always on the top of my mind when I was in high school.
The AT&T Slam Dunk competition is the main attraction of the night. The four NBA stars looking to put a show are Cole Anthony (Orlando Magic), Juan Toscano-Anderson (Golden State Warriors), Obi Toppin (New York Knicks ) and Jalen Green (Houston Rockets). Toppin competed in the contest last year and finished second.
