Brooklyn Nets: History of Nets on All-Star Saturday

Skills Challenge

The Skills Challenge is the newest of the All-Star Saturday Night events, added as the third competition of the event in 2003.

Here is how the Brooklyn Nets, and of course their forerunners, the New Jersey Nets have fared in the Skills Challenge.

2018: Spencer Dinwiddie

Last year in Los Angeles marked the third year the Skills Challenge was set up to matchup a guard against a big, and Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets broke the bigs’ stranglehold on the title by taking down Chicago Bulls rookie Lauri Markkanen in the final round.

Dinwiddie had to come from behind in the first round, beating Buddy Hield of the Sacramento Kings by sinking his first 3-point attempt. Hield built an early lead, but misfired on his first two attempts from behind the arc.

In the semifinals, Dinwiddie — competing in his hometown — again canned his first 3-point attempt to defeat Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets, who had a slim lead until he missed his first attempt from deep.

In the final round, Dinwiddie was successful on his first attempt at the chest pass to open a substantial lead over Markkanen and despite missing his first 3-point try, Dinwiddie had plenty of time to make his second before Markkanen arrived to take even a single shot.

2012: Deron Williams

Deron Williams represented the New Jersey Nets in the 2012 Skills Challenge in Orlando and as a past winner in 2008, while with the Utah Jazz, was considered one of the favorites.

The event was not head-to-head in these days, but rather was a timed challenge, and Williams breezed through the first round in 28.3 seconds to qualify as one of the three finalists.

But Williams struggled on his second run through the course, finishing in 41.4 seconds and ended up third behind winner Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs (32.8 seconds) and runner-up Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics (34.6 seconds).

2009: Devin Harris

Devin Harris of the New Jersey Nets arrived in Phoenix as a first-time NBA All-Star, but also was involved on All-Star Saturday as one of the five competitors in the Skills Challenge.

Harris got to the final with a first run of 36.6 seconds, behind only rookie Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls (33.3 seconds).

Rose opened the final round with a 35.3-second run and Harris ran into trouble with the jump shot from the top of the key, needing four attempts to sink one. Rose required just two attempts on the 20-footer and got the title.

2008: Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd returned to the Skills Challenge in New Orleans in 2008, five years after winning the inaugural event, but couldn’t repeat the magic.

With four competitors in the field, the top two in the first round would advance to the final, but Kidd managed to complete the course in 39.7 seconds, well behind the second-place time from Chris Paul of the host New Orleans Hornets (29.9 seconds) and Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz (31.2 seconds).

In the final, Williams blazed through in 25.5 seconds, just off the record 25.4 seconds set in 2005 by Steve Nash. Paul’s 31.2 seconds was not nearly fast enough to take down Williams.

2003: Jason Kidd

In the first Skills Challenge, there was some first-round intrigue with Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets in the same field as the man the Nets traded to get him from the Phoenix Suns 18 months earlier, Stephon Marbury.

But Marbury washed out in the first round, failing in all five attempts on the chest pass, and rookie Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs was bounced when he missed all five shots from the top of the key.

Gary Payton of the Seattle SuperSonics breezed through the first round in 31.3 seconds, while Kidd completed in 35.3 seconds.

In the final, Kidd missed on two outlet passes after missing his first top-of-the-key attempts and posted a time of 35.1 seconds.

Payton had trouble with the chest pass, missing three attempts and missed his first bounce pass, complicating things by running past the ball rack and having to retreat and Kidd was the first Skills Challenge champion.