SKILLS CHALLENGE FLOW OF PLAY (Click image for enlargement.) 1. START -- On referee's whistle, the clock starts and the player takes the first ball from its pedestal. He dribbles along the baseline toward the basket, where he must make a: 2. LAYUP/DUNK -- Player must rebound the same ball if he misses, and after the shot is made he will leave that ball behind. He then proceeds to the far side of court to: 3. NEW BALL -- Player takes second ball from its pedestal and proceeds upcourt to: 4. CROSSOVER DRIBBLE -- The player dribbles around the first pylon to the left, then the second pylon to the right, the third pylon to the left and the fourth pylon to the right, player then approaches: 5. CHEST PASS -- Using the ball from the crossover dribble, player attempts to complete a chest pass into the target. If the first attempt is made, the player moves on. If not, he must use the four additional balls on the rack until (a) the pass is made or (b) all of the balls are exhausted, at which point the player moves on to: 6. BOUNCE PASS -- Five balls on rack. Player moves on after the pass is completed or when all five balls are exhausted, at which point he moves on to: 7. JUMP SHOT -- Five balls on rack. Player moves on after the shot is made or when all five balls are exhausted, at which point he moves on to: 8. OUTLET PASS -- Five balls on rack. Player moves on after the pass is completed or when all five balls are exhausted, at which point he moves on to: 9. NEW BALL -- Player takes new ball from pedestal and proceeds downcourt to: 10. SPEED DRIBBLE -- Starting around the first pylon to the left, then around the second pylon to the right and the third pylon to the left, the player then finishes with: 11. FINAL BASKET -- The clock will stop on the referee's whistle, when the ball goes through the basket. Any type of shot may be taken as long as the final pylon in the speed dribble section has been cleared (at referee's discretion). Again, the player must rebound the same ball if he misses and continue until he makes the basket to stop the clock. Source: NBA

Four of the NBA's biggest stars will test themselves against each other -- and the clock -- in basketball's most basic skills during the league's All-Star Saturday, Feb. 17, at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade will defend his 2006 skills title against LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns in the Skills Challenge.

The event is an obstacle course that comprises dribbling, shooting and passing stations. Players are timed as they navigate the course.

The competition is held in two rounds, with the two fastest players advancing to the finals. The player with the fastest time in the finals will receive $35,000.

Last year in Houston, Wade completed the course in 26.1 seconds in the finals. He beat James, who took 33.7 seconds.

Wade managed to advance despite struggling in the first round, when he missed shot after shot at the jump shooting station. He said afterward that he heard Heat teammate Shaquille O'Neal yelling advice from the sideline about his wrist hanging too much.

"Shaq kept yelling, 'Leave it up! Leave it up!' " Wade said.

Nash won the event in 2005 in record time, needing just 25.8 seconds to finish.

The contest incorporates virtually every skill a player must perform during a game. Players are required to make a layup, a jump shot from the top of the key, dribble around pylons as well as speed-dribbling, make a chest pass and a bounce pass into a target and throw an outlet pass. Dunking is permitted instead of a layup.

Besides participating in the Skills Challenge, Wade, Bryant and James were voted in as starters for the Feb. 18 All-Star Game. Wade and Bryant are tied for third in the NBA in scoring at 28.4 points a game.

James, seventh in scoring with a 27.2 average, was the leading overall vote-getter with 2,516,049, the second most in All-Star history.

Nash, who leads the league in assists with 11.8 per game, is expected to be named to the Western Conference roster Thursday when the reserves are announced.

The Skills Challenge will be one of four events on All-Star Saturday. The others are the Shooting Stars competition, which features a current NBA player, an NBA legend and a WNBA player; the Three-Point Shootout; and the Slam Dunk Contest.

New Jersey's Jason Kidd won the first Skills Challenge in 2003, followed by Baron Davis, then of the New Orleans Hornets, in 2004.