HOUSTON – Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley was selected by the NBA to participate in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge that will take place on Saturday, Feb. 14, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Beverley will be replacing Wizards guard John Wall. The event is a part of the State Farm All-Star Saturday Night that will air exclusively on TNT beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. The four events that comprise the State Farm All-Star Saturday Night are the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, the Degree Shooting Stars, the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, and the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest.
This will be the first appearance of Beverley’s career in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. It marks the second appearance by a Houston Rockets player, with the first coming in All-Star 2013 when Jeremy Lin participated in the Skills Challenge.
Beverley (6-1, 180, Arkansas) is averaging 10.7 points, 3.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 30.9 minutes in 39 games played for Houston this season. His numbers mark career high averages for points, assists and rebounds. The fourth-year guard is coming off a season in which he was named to the 2013-14 NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
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, eight players have been paired to participate in four head-to-head competitions, including the new pairing of Beverley and Thomas. The four winners advance to the second round, where two more head-to-head showdowns will determine the two finalists.