NBA 2013 All-Star Weekend: Individual Skills Competition

The 2013 NBA All-Stars, like any other all-star event, is a chance to showcase the individual skills of the top players in the league. Below are some of the highlights and winners from the major events during the weekend activities:

Shooting Stars Competition

As the first event on Saturday night, the Shooting Stars competition set the stage for what is going to be a fun night of wild competition and exciting fun for fans.Team Bosch ended up winning it all. Check out the video below to see how the Shooting Stars Competition turned out.

Slam Dunk Contest

Terrence Ross of Toronto Raptors followed in Vince Carter's footsteps and won the Slam Dunk contest trophy in a thrilling contest. On Saturday night, he showcased major athleticism and dunking skills to dethrone defending champion Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz. He becomes the first rookie since Josh Smith in 2005 to have won the slam dunk competition at the NBA All-Stars.

You can view the entire Slam Dunk competition below:

Three Point Contest

All cylinders are on fire at the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest for this year's NBA All-Star Weekend. Matt Bonner of the San Antonio Spurs represented the West in the finals round versus Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, Irving ended up on top as he was on fire, scoring 23 points versus Bonner's 20 points. Among the other NBA all-stars he beat out in the three point contest are Stephen Curry, Ryan Anderson, and Steve Novak.

Skills Challenge

Rookie Damian Lillard has shown off his skills and further supporting the argument of him as the top contender for the Rookie of the Year honors. The TrailBlazer guard was blazing through the competition after beating Sixers Jrue Holiday at the final round of competition at the 2013 NBA All Star Skills Competition. San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker  the favorite to win the competition this year but he ended up performing the worst out of the bunch.

What was your favorite event during the NBA 2013 All-Star Weekend?

NBA 2013 All-Star Weekend: Rising Stars Challenge

Image: CBS Sports

The 2013 NBA All-Star Weekend is being staged as one of the most exciting event in the league for this season and rightfully so with a showcase of individual talents lined up over the weekend's activities. The first part of the weekend basketball showcase kicked off last Friday via the Rising Stars Challenge featuring rookie and sophomore players. This year features the battle between Team Chuck and Team Shaq once again and here is a breakdown of the players that make up the roster:

Team Chuck:

Tristan Thompson
Anthony Davis
Kenneth Faried
Kawhi Leonard
Bradley Beal
Ricky Rubio
Nikola Vucevic
Brandon Knight
Isaiah Thomas
Alexey Shved 

Team Shaq:

Kemba Walker
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Damian Lillard
Kyrie Irving
Andrew Nicholson
Klay Thompson
Harrison Barnes
Chandler Parsons
Dion Waiters
Tyler Zeller

Team Chuck vs Team Shaq (source: sneakernews.com)

This is the second time that the Rising Stars challenge in the NBA All-Stars consisted of a mix of rookie and sophomore players. And it helped to bring forth exciting action on the court as fans were treated to several highlight plays, dunks, and all things in between.  

Kyrie Irving was the MVP from last year's Rising Star Challenge and he registered 32 points along with 23 points from his Cavaliers teammate Dion Waiters, who is also part of Team Shaq. As if it were any sign of how exciting this game would be, Spurs' Kawhi Leonard slammed the ball to the hoop via an alley-oop pass from Anthony Davis within 20 seconds since the game kicked off.

However, Team Chuck was on fire leading to halftime wherein they were firing from all cylinders. They have landed several 3-point shots and dunks that were virtually uncontested. In fact, all of the players fielded in for Team Chuck had converted a 3-point shot but Tristan Thompson. But in order to make up for that, he has four dunks under his name.

Ricky Rubio, who has had a pretty strong return this season from Minnesota Timberwolves after suffering an injury, and made 10 assists. Later in the game, though, Brandon Knight and Kyrie Irving stole the show after their short individual duel. But the real star of the 2013 Rising Stars Challenge was Kenneth Faried who bagged 40 points and 10 rebounds. His shots drew some of the loudest cheers from the fans on the bleacher. 

In the end, Team Chuck won over Tem Shaq via a 163-135 victory.