NBA All-Star Skills contest participants: Running list of who’s in and out

On Saturday night, NBA All-Star Weekend will feature three major events.

The first of the festivities will be the Kia Skills Challenge.

The format of the Kia Skills Challenge is quite complex. There are three teams that compete, one featuring the team that is hosting All-Star Weekend, one featuring recent top draft picks or rookies, and one featuring All-Stars from other teams.

In round one, teams battle to complete a relay course. The second round features a passing challenge, and the third and final round features a shooting challenge. The winner of each round is determined by highest score, which also determines "Challenge Points." The team with the most challenge points is determined as the winner of the entire competition.

This year, there are several compelling participants to keep an eye on. In this piece, we will discuss who will be competing in this year's skills challenge.

Kia Skills Challenge Participants

The skills challenge will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, as the Indiana Pacers are the team hosting All-Star Weekend.

As such, the Pacers will have a team of three players competing in this event. "Team Pacers" will include Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, and Myles Turner.

"Team Top Picks" is full of talented NBA stars who have been top draft picks in recent years. Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic, Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs will be representing Team Top Picks.

Finally, "Team All-Stars" will compete. As previously mentioned, this team features All-Stars from different NBA teams. The contestants this year are Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors, Tyrese Maxey, and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.

Notable Absentees

This year's skills contest is full of exciting NBA stars, but there are several players from last year's skills challenge that will not be present this year.

Last year, the Utah Jazz hosted All-Star Weekend, and "Team Jazz" consisted of Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler, and Collin Sexton, all of whom are absent from this year's list.

Two players from "Team Rooks" last year, Jaden Ivey and Jabari Smith Jr. are not competing in this year's skills challenge either. Giannis Antetokounmpo was a captain at last year's All-Star events, and he competed in the skills challenge with his brothers Alex and Thanasis. All three Antetokounmpo brothers will not be competing in this year's event.

The Kia Skills Challenge will air on TNT and will be the first of three events on Saturday night. The events will kick off at 8 p.m. Eastern Time and the skills challenge will be followed by the Starry 3-Point Contest and AT&T Slam Dunk Contest.