Karl-Anthony Towns and Trae Young. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP
The NBA released the lists of participants for the skills challenge, slam dunk contest and 3-point contest for NBA All-Star Weekend, with the latter set to feature stars Trae Young, Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach LaVine.
Young (Atlanta), Towns (Minnesota) and LaVine (Chicago) will be joined by CJ McCollum, who was traded Tuesday from Portland to New Orleans, along with Fred VanVleet (Toronto), Patty Mills (Brooklyn), Desmond Bane (Memphis) and Luke Kennard (LA Clippers).
VanVleet ranks second in the NBA in 3-pointers made entering Tuesday’s action, while Mills ranks fourth and Bane is ninth. Towns, a center, is making 40.6 percent of his triples, among the highest rates for a big man this year.
Four players will compete in the slam dunk contest: Cole Anthony (Orlando), Obi Toppin (New York), Juan Toscano-Anderson (Golden State) and rookie Jalen Green (Houston), the No. 2 overall pick in last summer’s draft.
The skills challenge went an unusual route and created three teams: the “Rooks” with rookies Scottie Barnes (Toronto), Cade Cunningham (Detroit) and Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City); the “Cavs,” a Cleveland trio of Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland and rookie Evan Mobley; and the “Antetokounmpos,” made up of brothers Giannis, Thanasis and Alex Antetokounmpo.
Cleveland is hosting All-Star Weekend Feb. 18-20. The skills challenge, 3-point contest and dunk contest are slated for Feb. 19.