Field set for Skills Challenge

be crowned as the New Jersey Nets’ Devin Harris, the Orlando Magic’s Jameer
Nelson, the San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker and the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick
Rose will take the floor on Feb. 14, as part of NBA All-Star Saturday Night
at US Airways Center in Phoenix.

The PlayStation® Skills Challenge was introduced at NBA All-Star 2003 in
Atlanta and consists of four players competing in a two-round timed
“obstacle course” consisting of dribbling, passing and shooting stations.
All players must observe basic NBA ball-handling rules while completing the
course. The two players with the fastest times from the first round advance
to the finals with the order of competition determined by inverse order of
the first round times. At the discretion of the referee, television instant
replay may be consulted for clarification of rules compliance.

A first-time NBA All-Star, Harris, who paces the Nets in scoring (21.5
ppg), assists (6.4 apg) and steals (1.7 spg), is one of only five players
averaging at least 21.0 points and 6.0 assists. Another first-time
All-Star, Nelson is averaging a career-high 17.0 points, while
shooting .506 from the field and .456 from beyond the arc. Rose, a leading
candidate for T-Mobile Rookie of the Year honors and a participant this
year’s T-Mobile Rookie Challenge on Feb. 13, paces rookies and is among the
league leaders in assists (6.3 apg); he ranks second among first-year
players in scoring (16.7 ppg). Parker, an All-Star for the third time and a
participant in the inaugural PlayStation® Skills Challenge in 2003, became
only the second player in NBA history to record at least 55 points, 10
assists and five rebounds when he did it Nov. 5 at Minnesota, joining Oscar
Robertson.

Last year in New Orleans, Utah’s Deron Williams covered the course in a
record 25.5 seconds in the second round to capture the title.