MANILA, Philippines – Reigning NBA MVP Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, known as the Splash Brothers of the NBA defending champion Golden State Warriors, will headline the 3-point shootout for NBA All-Star Saturday Night on February 13 (February 14, Sunday in PH time).
Curry won last year’s 3-Point Shootout with a score of 23 in the eliminations and 27 in the finals, outlasting Kyrie Irving (17) and his teammate Thompson (14).
Curry will once again have to defend his title against Thompson, as well as Toronto’s Kyle Lowry, Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton, Phoenix’s Devin Booker, LAC’s JJ Reddick, Miami’s Chris Bosh, and Houston’s James Harden.
Harden and Reddick were also in last year’s contest, but didn’t make it to the final round after posting scores of 16 and 17 in the first round, respectively.
{source} <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The 2016 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FootLockerThree?src=hash">#FootLockerThree</a> Field at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAAllStarTO?src=hash">#NBAAllStarTO</a>! <a href="https://t.co/vExheAnTg2">pic.twitter.com/vExheAnTg2</a></p>— 2016 NBA All-Star (@NBAAllStar) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAAllStar/status/695397957479243776">February 5, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> {/source}
Skills Challenge
Houston’s Pat Beverley will return to defend his NBA Skills Challenge tournament in 2016, only this time the competition’s going to include a twist: big men.
Normally a competition for guards and perimeter players, the Skills Challenge will have centers and forwards this year with Draymond Green of Golden State, Anthony Davis of New Orleans, Karl Anthony Towns of Minnesota, and DeMarcus Cousins of Sacramento joining the fray.
Rounding up the rest of the pack are CJ McCollum of Portland, Isaiah Thomas of Boston, and Fil-Am Jordan Clarkson of LAL.
{source} <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The 2016 Taco Bell Skills Challenge players are: <a href="https://t.co/4BMzVsDGK8">pic.twitter.com/4BMzVsDGK8</a></p>— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/695399333340917760">February 5, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> {/source}
Dunk Contest
Arguably the most popular event of All-Star Saturday in its history, the NBA Slam Dunk Contest will feature defending champion Zach LaVine of Minnesota, Will Barton of Denver, Andre Drummond of Detroit, and Aaron Gordon of Orlando.
LaVine won last year’s contest by scoring 50 twice in the first round and then 45 and 49 in the finals, outlasting Orlando’s Victor Oladipo.
{source} <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The 2016 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VerizonDunk?src=hash">#VerizonDunk</a> Field at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAAllStarTO?src=hash">#NBAAllStarTO</a>: <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachLaVine">@ZachLaVine</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/AndreDrummondd">@AndreDrummondd</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/WillTheThrillB5">@WillTheThrillB5</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/Double0AG">@Double0AG</a>! <a href="https://t.co/QqGP85x1rD">pic.twitter.com/QqGP85x1rD</a></p>— 2016 NBA All-Star (@NBAAllStar) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAAllStar/status/695397472017842176">February 5, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> {/source}
– Rappler.com