Before the NBA's most accurate 3-point shooters and most vicious dunkers take the floor on All-Star Saturday Night, a select group of players will put their dribbling, shooting and passing skills to the test in the Skills Challenge.
The league didn't cut corners this year. Six of the nine participants in the 2024 Skills Challenge will also be on the floor on Sunday for the All-Star Game. In addition to two players from the hometown Pacers, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Victor Wembanyama, will put his unicorn skills on full display.
Will Team Pacers, Team Top Picks or Team All-Stars win the event? Here's everything you need to know about this year's Skills Challenge.
LIVE: Follow updates from Skills Challenge
Who is in the NBA Skills Challenge?
The 2024 Skills Challenge features Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, Myles Turner, Paolo Banchero, Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama, Scottie Barnes, Tyrese Maxey and Trae Young.
The nine players are split between three teams as such:
- Team Pacers: Haliburton, Mathurin, Turner
- Team Top Picks: Banchero, Edwards, Wembanyama
- Team All-Star: Barnes, Maxey, Young
This is the third straight year the Skills Challenge has used the three-team format. In 2022, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen won it as representatives of the Cavaliers. In 2023, a Jazz team made up of Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton and Walker Kessler won the event.
Here is the full list of this year's Skills Challenge participants:
| Player | Team |
| Tyrese Haliburton | Team Pacers |
| Bennedict Mathurin | Team Pacers |
| Myles Turner | Team Pacers |
| Paolo Banchero | Team Top Picks |
| Anthony Edwards | Team Top Picks |
| Victor Wembanyama | Team Top Picks |
| Scottie Barnes | Team All-Stars |
| Tyrese Maxey | Team All-Stars |
| Trae Young | Team All-Stars |
Skills Challenge rules, scoring, format
The Skills Challenge is split into three rounds:
- Round 1: Team Relay
- Round 2: Team Passing
- Round 3: Team Shooting
Each team will compete one at a time in each round. The team with the most "Challenge Points" after the three rounds have been played will win the Skills Challenge.
If there is a tie, a half-court shootout will determine the winner.
Team Relay
Each player on the team has to complete a timed relay course featuring a 35-foot outlet pass, dribbling downcourt through moving pilons, making a short shot in the lane and making a left corner 3. The relay ends with the player dribbling to the opposite goal and making a basket.
If the player cannot complete the pass or either shot within three attempts, they move on to the next phase of the relay.
The team with the fastest time earns 100 Challenge Points.
Team Passing
Teams compete one at a time and receive 30 seconds to get as many points as possible. Players generate points by completing specific passes into targets in front of them.
There are three oversized targets:
- 35-foot outlet pass, which moves forward and back (2 points)
- 20-foot bounce pass, which moves side-to-side (4 points)
- 25-foot chest pass, which moves forward and back (6 points)
Each team must make at least one pass attempt at each target and individual players cannot make consecutive passes at the same target.
The team with the highest score earns 100 Challenge Points.
Team Shooting
Teams compete one at a time and receive 60 seconds to get as many points as possible while shooting from five different spots on the court.
- Spot 1: Right side 10-foot shot (1 point)
- Spot 2: Left elbow extended (2 points)
- Spot 3: Top of the key 3-pointer (3 points)
- Spot 4: Left corner 3-pointer (4 points)
- Spot 5: Right slot 30-foot 3-pointer (5 points)
Each team shares one basketball. Each player must attempt at least one shot and players must alternate shot locations, and teams cannot shoot from the same spot consecutively.
The team with the highest score earns 100 Challenge Points.
All-Star Saturday Night schedule
- Date: Saturday, Feb. 17
- Time: 8 p.m. ET | 5 p.m. PT
- Location: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana
All-Star Saturday Night tips off at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 17 from Lucas Oil Stadium.
The night will begin with the Skills Challenge, followed by the 3-Point Contest. There will then be a 3-Point Challenge between NBA star Stephen Curry and WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu before the Dunk Contest, the final event of the night.
