NBA All-Star weekend is here, offering us a plethora of events to sink our betting teeth into.
Saturday night begins with the Kia Skills Challenge, which is undergoing a new format for 2025. I break down the NBA Skills Challenge odds and bring you my best NBA picks for February 15.
NBA Skills Challenge odds
NBA Skills Challenge rules
The skills challenge has changed formats yet again. After three years of having three three-man teams compete, the 2025 edition will feature four teams consisting of two players.
The NBA has yet to announce the exact format for this season's event, but it will likely resemble the last few years. Last year, the event featured three rounds: the first was a team relay, the second involved passing, and it concluded with a 'Team Shooting' circuit.
If tied after three rounds, a half-court shootout will determine first place, and that thrilling tiebreaker has decided the last three contests.
Skills Challenge participants
Team Cavs (+200)
The Cleveland Cavaliers enter the break atop the NBA standings, and their All-Star duo of Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley headline the odds board for this event.
Mitchell is one of the top guards in the league and possesses the speed, ball-handling, passing, and shooting ability to excel at this event. Meanwhile, Mobley was part of the Cavs trio that won the Skills Challenge in 2022.
Team Spurs (+220)
The San Antonio Spurs duo ticks a lot of the boxes, with the Future Hall-of-Fame point guard Chris Paul playing alongside the 7-foot-3 phenom. This is my pick to win the event.
Team Warriors (+230)
With this year's event taking place at the Chase Center, it might be tempting to back the Golden State Warriors pair, considering the hosting team has won each of the last three events. However, in those years, the host team was the only squad with players who had played together.
The other teams were made up of various All-Stars, rookies, or Antetokounmpo brothers, which created chemistry issues (or, in the case of the Antetokounmpo brothers, meant two of the three players didn't have NBA-caliber skills).
This year, three of these duos will already have established chemistry, with Team Rooks being the only exception.
Team Rooks (+430)
Since the event was overhauled in 2022, there has been a rookie team in every event, and this year features first-overall pick Zaccharie Risacher and second-overall selection Alex Sarr.
Both rookies have looked extremely raw this season, so it's easy to see why they are the biggest underdogs on the board.
NBA Skills Challenge pick
Team Spurs (+220 at FanDuel)
From a pure skills perspective, it's tough to turn down Paul and Wemby here. CP3 is arguably the most skilled guard at this event, while Wembanyama is clearly the most well-rounded big man.
When it comes down to the shooting drills, I'd easily trust the smooth-shooting Wemby over Mobley, Green, and Sarr.
Past Skills Challenge Winners
| Year | Team |
|---|---|
| 2024 |  Team Pacers |
| 2023 |  Team Jazz |
| 2022 |  Team Cavs |
| 2021 | Domontas Sabonis |
| 2020 |  Bam Adebayo |
| 2019 |  Jayson Tatum |
| 2018 |  Spencer Dinwiddie |
| 2017 |  Kristaps Porzingis |
| 2016 |  Karl-Anthony Towns |
| 2015 |  Patrick Beverley |
