El Clutch Deportivo: Entérate quien serán parte de las competencias en el NBA All-Star Game 2016 en Toronto, Cánada

TIMBERWOLVES’ LAVINE TO DEFEND TITLE IN 2016 VERIZON SLAM DUNK

– Pistons All-Star Drummond Makes Event Debut as Part of Four-Player Field –

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ Zach LaVine will defend his title in 2016 Verizon Slam Dunk at Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Saturday, Feb. 13. LaVine, who won the NBA’s signature above-the-rim showcase in spectacular fashion as a 19-year-old rookie last year, is joined by three first-time competitors: Will Barton of the Denver Nuggets, 2016 NBA All-Star Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons and Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic.

Verizon Slam Dunk is part of State Farm^® All-Star Saturday Night, which will be exclusively televised by TNT in the U.S. at 7:30 p.m. ET. This marks Turner Sports’ 31^st year of NBA All-Star coverage. Sportsnet and TSN will simulcast Verizon Slam Dunk in Canada.

LaVine is seeking to join Michael Jordan (1987-88), Jason Richardson (2002-03) and Nate Robinson (2009-10) as the only solo back-to-back winners of Verizon Slam Dunk. LaVine, who was also selected to the U.S. Team for the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 12, is averaging 12.8 points and 3.2 assists in his second NBA season.

Barton is enjoying a breakout year, averaging career highs in points (15.5 ppg), rebounds (6.0 rpg) and assists (2.3 apg) in his fourth season. His scoring average is second among players who have come off the bench in more than half their games, behind the New Orleans Pelicans’ Ryan Anderson (17.2 ppg). No Nuggets player has ever won Verizon Slam Dunk.

Drummond, who leads the NBA in rebounding (15.0 rpg) and double-doubles (41), earned an All-Star nod for the first time in his four-year career. He is the first Detroit player to make the Eastern Conference All-Star team since Allen Iverson in the 2008-09 season. The last Piston to compete in Verizon Slam Dunk was Jerry Stackhouse in 2000.

Gordon, the fourth pick of NBA Draft 2014 presented by State Farm, is averaging 7.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in his second season and recently became a starter with the Magic. He is looking to join Dwight Howard (2008) as Orlando players to win Verizon Slam Dunk.

Verizon Slam Dunk is a two-round event in which the four participants can perform any dunk they choose without time limits. The players have a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in both the first round and the final round. Five judges score every dunk on a scale of 6 to 10, resulting in a high score of 50 and a low score of 30. All four competitors get two dunks in the first round. The two dunkers with the highest combined score for their two dunks advance to the head-to-head final round. The player with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round is crowned the champion.

NBA All-Star 2016 in Toronto – the first NBA All-Star held outside the U.S. – will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game. The 65^th NBA All-Star Game, which will take place at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 14 at Air Canada Centre, will reach fans in more than 200 countries in more than 40 languages. TNT will televise the All-Star Game in the U.S. for the 14th consecutive year. Air Canada Centre will also host the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge at 9 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 12 and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night. Other events at NBA All-Star 2016 include the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by Mountain Dew and the NBA Development League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire.

Below is the lineup for 2016 Verizon Slam Dunk and a list of previous winners:

2016 VERIZON SLAM DUNK PARTICIPANTS

Participant, Team Pos. Ht. Wt.

Will Barton, Denver Nuggets G 6-6 175

Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons C 6-11 279

Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic F 6-9 220
Zach LaVine, Minnesota Timberwolves G 6-5 189

VERIZON SLAM DUNK YEAR-BY-YEAR WINNERS

1984—Larry Nance, Phoenix                    2001—Desmond Mason, Seattle
1985—Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta          2002—Jason Richardson, Golden State
1986—Spud Webb, Atlanta                       2003—Jason Richardson, Golden State
1987—Michael Jordan, Chicago               2004—Fred Jones, Indiana
1988—Michael Jordan, Chicago               2005—Josh Smith, Atlanta
1989—Kenny Walker, New York             2006—Nate Robinson, New York
1990—Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta          2007—Gerald Green, Boston
1991—Dee Brown, Boston                        2008—Dwight Howard, Orlando
1992—Cedric Ceballos, Phoenix               2009—Nate Robinson, New York
1993—Harold Miner, Miami                     2010—Nate Robinson, New York
1994—Isaiah Rider, Minnesota                 2011—Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers
1995—Harold Miner, Miami                     2012—Jeremy Evans, Utah
1996—Brent Barry, L.A. Clippers             2013—Terrence Ross, Toronto
1997—Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers              2014—Eastern Conference (Paul George, Terrence Ross, John Wall)
2000—Vince Carter, Toronto                                       2015—Zach LaVine, Minnesota

WARRIORS’ CURRY AND THOMPSON AMONG FIVE NBA ALL-STARS
TO COMPETE IN 2016 FOOT LOCKER THREE-POINT CONTEST

– All-Stars Bosh and Lowry Make Competition Debuts; All-Star Harden Also in Field –

Defending champion Stephen Curry and Golden State Warriors teammate Klay Thompson lead a list of five NBA All-Stars who will showcase their shooting range in the 2016 Foot Locker Three-Point Contest on Saturday, Feb. 13 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The eight-player field also features 2016 All-Stars Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat, James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors, as well as Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks and J.J. Redick of the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Foot Locker Three-Point Contest is part of State Farm^® All-Star Saturday Night, which will be exclusively televised by TNT in the U.S. at 7:30 p.m. ET. This marks Turner Sports’ 31^st year of NBA All-Star coverage. Sportsnet and TSN will simulcast the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest in Canada.

Curry, the NBA’s top scorer (29.8 ppg), has led the league in three-pointers made in each of the last three seasons and is setting the pace again this season. He has hit 232 threes during the Warriors’ 45-4 start, becoming the first player in NBA history to sink 200 in four consecutive seasons and putting him on track to shatter his own NBA record of 286 set last season. The 2014-15 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, an All-Star starter for the third straight year, will be competing in his fifth Foot Locker Three-Point Contest.

Thompson returns for his second Foot Locker Three-Point Contest after reaching the championship round last year. He ranks second in the NBA with 155 three-pointers made, as he closes in on matching Curry with his fourth consecutive season of at least 200 triples. Thompson, an All-Star for the second year in a row, is averaging 21.5 points and shooting better than 40 percent from deep for the fifth straight year.

Harden, the NBA’s second-leading scorer (27.9 ppg), is also competing for the second year in a row. The four-time All-Star is third in the NBA in three-pointers made (140) and second to Curry in attempts (401). On Jan. 20, Harden became the youngest player (26 years, 147 days) to reach 1,000 career threes made.

The other two 2016 All-Stars in the field are from the Eastern Conference. Bosh, an All-Star for the 11^th consecutive year, leads the Heat in three-pointers made with a career-high 78. Lowry, representing the hometown Raptors and starting in the All-Star Game for the second year in a row, is shooting a career-high 38.8 percent from beyond the arc and ranks fourth in the NBA in three-pointers made (135) and fifth in attempts (348).

Booker is the first rookie to compete in the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest since Curry in 2010. The 19-year-old Suns guard leads all rookies in three-point field goal percentage (41.8, 12^th in the NBA). On Jan. 19, Booker set a franchise rookie record with six three-pointers and scored a career-high 32 points against the Indiana Pacers. He also hit six threes against the Raptors on Feb. 2, finishing with 27 points.

Middleton and Redick are both having strong shooting seasons. Middleton is connecting on 41.2 percent from three-point range, helping him average a career-high 17.6 points. Redick (16.0 ppg) is converting an NBA-high 48.2 percent of his threes. On Jan. 18, Redick equaled a Clippers record with nine three-pointers as part of a career-high 40-point performance against Houston.

In the two-round, timed competition, five shooting locations are positioned around the three-point arc. Four racks contain four orange balls (each worth one point) and one multi-colored “money” ball (worth two points). The fifth rack is a special “all money ball” rack, which each participant can place at any of the five shooting locations. Every ball on this rack is worth two points. The players have one minute to shoot as many as the 25 balls as they can. The three competitors with the highest scores in the first round advance to the championship round. Complete rules can be found at mediacentral.nba.com.

Below is the lineup for the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest and a list of previous winners:

2016 FOOT LOCKER THREE-POINT CONTEST PARTICIPANTS

*2015-16 season*

Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Made Att. %

Devin Booker, Phoenix G 6-6 206 51 122 41.8

Chris Bosh, Miami F 6-11 235 78 213 36.6

Stephen Curry, Golden State G 6-3 190 232 506 45.8

James Harden, Houston G 6-5 220 140 401 34.9

Kyle Lowry, Toronto G 6-0 205 135 348 38.8

Khris Middleton, Milwaukee                  F          6-8        234                100       243       41.2
J.J. Redick, L.A. Clippers                     G          6-4        190                120       249       48.2
Klay Thompson, Golden State                G          6-7        215                155       357       43.4

(Statistics through games played on Wednesday, Feb. 3)

FOOT LOCKER THREE-POINT CONTEST YEAR-BY-YEAR WINNERS

1986 – Larry Bird, Boston 1995 – Glen Rice, Miami 2006 – Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas 1987 – Larry Bird, Boston 1996 – Tim Legler, Washington 2007 – Jason Kapono, Miami

1988 – Larry Bird, Boston 1997 – Steve Kerr, Chicago 2008 – Jason Kapono, Toronto

1989 – Dale Ellis, Seattle 1998 – Jeff Hornacek, Utah 2009 – Daequan Cook, Miami

1990 – Craig Hodges, Chicago 2000 – Jeff Hornacek, Utah 2010 – Paul Pierce, Boston

1991 – Craig Hodges, Chicago 2001 – Ray Allen, Milwaukee 2011 – James Jones, Miami

1992 – Craig Hodges, Chicago 2002 – Peja Stojakovic, Sacramento 2012 – Kevin Love, Minnesota

1993 – Mark Price, Cleveland 2003 – Peja Stojakovic, Sacramento 2013 – Kyrie Irving, Cleveland

1994 – Mark Price, Cleveland 2004 – Voshon Leonard, Denver 2014 – Marco Belinelli, San Antonio

2005 – Quentin Richardson, Phoenix 2015 – Stephen Curry, Golden State

NBA ALL-STARS COUSINS, DAVIS AND GREEN, TIMBERWOLVES’ TOWNS ADD FRONTCOURT FLAIR TO 2016 TACO BELL^® SKILLS CHALLENGE

– Multiple Frontcourt Players to Compete for First Time in Event History –

NBA All-Stars DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings, Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors will headline the 2016 Taco Bell^® Skills Challenge at Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Saturday, Feb. 13. Three-time reigning Kia NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves rounds out the quartet of versatile frontcourt players in the eight-player field, the first time in the event’s 14-year history that multiple non-guards are competing.

Defending champion Patrick Beverley of the Houston Rockets and fellow guards Jordan Clarkson of the Los Angeles Lakers, CJ McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers and All-Star Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics complete the lineup for the three-round, obstacle-course competition that tests dribbling, passing, agility and three-point-shooting skills. A head-to-head, bracket-style tournament format will be used for the second year in a row. The tournament matchups will be determined at a later date.

The Taco^® Bell Skills Challenge is part of State Farm^® All-Star Saturday Night, which will be exclusively televised by TNT in the U.S. at 7:30 p.m. ET. This marks Turner Sports’ 31st year of NBA All-Star coverage. Sportsnet and TSN will simulcast the Taco Bell^® Skills Challenge in Canada.

The four frontcourt participants are enjoying exceptional seasons while using their array of skills to affect games in many ways. Cousins and Davis are the only NBA players averaging at least 22 points and 10 rebounds this season. Both have expanded their shooting range: Cousins has made 45 of his 56 career three-pointers this season, and Davis has hit 21 of his 24 career three-pointers. Towns has also showcased his perimeter shooting, converting 18-of-46 (39.1 percent) from beyond the arc during a season in which he leads all rookies in rebounding (9.9 rpg) and ranks second in scoring (16.5 ppg) and blocked shots (1.8 bpg).

Green (14.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 7.4 apg) leads the NBA with 10 triple-doubles and ranks sixth in the league in assist average – the only frontcourt player in the top 10. The first-time All-Star selection is shooting career highs of 48.9 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three-point range.

Beverley, who won the 2015 Taco^® Bell Skills Challenge in his competition debut, is shooting a career-high 42.8 percent from three-point range this season. Thomas, also participating for the second year in a row, is averaging career highs of 21.4 points and 6.6 assists as a first-time All-Star. This marks the first time in the event for Clarkson, who is averaging 15.2 points in his second season, and McCollum, who has raised his scoring average from 6.8 points last season to 20.9 points this season (15^th in the NBA).

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2016 TACO BELL^® SKILLS CHALLENGE

The Taco Bell^® Skills Challenge format calls for two players to compete simultaneously on an identical course with the fastest finisher reaching the next round. In the first round, the eight players are paired to participate in four head-to-head competitions. The four winners advance to the second round, where two more head-to-head showdowns determine the two finalists. Complete rules can be found at mediacentral.nba.com.