A star-studded 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend is in store with one of the more popular events being the 2023 Skills Challenge on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET at Salt Lake City's Vivint Arena. The event features some of the league's top players, who will show off their skills in a three-round competition. The Skills Challenge will start with a team relay that includes five events. Round 2 features a team passing contest, while Round 3 consists of a team shooting exercise. Following Round 3, the team that has earned the most Challenge Points will be crowned the Skills Challenge champion. If any teams are tied after the third round, the teams will settle the score by making as many half-court shots as possible in an allotted amount of time, shooting one team at a time.
Caesars Sportsbook has listed the home team of Team Jazz stars Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton as the -120 favorites (risk $120 to win $100) in its latest 2023 NBA Skills Challenge odds. Team Rookies, featuring Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic, Jaden Ivey of the Detroit Pistons and Jabari Smith Jr. of the Houston Rockets, is listed at +145. Team Antetokounmpo, which is made up of brothers Giannis, Thanasis and Alex, is priced at +450. Before locking in any 2023 NBA Skills Challenge picks, be sure to check the NBA All-Star Weekend predictions and betting advice from SportsLine NBA guru Mike Barner.
A respected NBA Fantasy expert, both season-long and daily, Barner's work has appeared in Sports Illustrated and on Yahoo, RotoWire and KFFL. He's also been featured on ESPN Radio. Barner digs deep into the data, examining team trends and projecting game outcomes.
Barner's expertise has been on full display over a wide sample. Over the past three seasons at SportsLine, Mike has crushed sportsbooks with a 425-343-12 record, returning $4,416 to $100 bettors on against-the-spread picks. He also has an incredible feel for NBA All-Star Weekend. In 2022, Barner correctly picked Team Cavs to win the Skills Challenge. Anybody who followed Barner's picks has seen some big returns.
Now, Barner has analyzed the NBA Skills Challenge 2023 from all angles and just locked in his coveted picks and All-Star Weekend predictions. You can only see his NBA Skills Challenge picks at SportsLine.
2023 NBA Skills Challenge Predictions
One surprise: Barner is fading Team Antetokounmpo. He does not see the risk being worth what the potential value would be, especially due to their inconsistent shooting. And shooting will be at a premium in the third round. Giannis is the best shooter among the brothers, but is too inconsistent for Barner's liking. Giannis is hitting on just 27.1% of his 3-pointers and 64.6% of his free throws. The numbers are better than in the past, but not good enough to help carry his team to the victory, especially with Giannis injuring his wrist on Thursday.
Barner likes what he sees with Team Jazz and Team Rookies. The Jazz players have been together all season and have complimented each other well with Clarkson and Sexton two of the three best scorers on the team. Clarkson is averaging 21 points and Sexton 14.3 per game. Kessler averages 8.2 points, but is connecting on 71.2% from the floor. The rookies, meanwhile, are all top-of-the-line scorers with Banchero leading Orlando at 19.9 points per game, Ivey third in Detroit (15.2) and Smith fifth in Houston (12.0). See which team to back here.
How to make 2023 NBA Skills Challenge picks
Barner has studied the NBA Skills Challenge from every angle and found a critical x-factor that makes one of these teams a must-back Saturday night. See who it is over at SportsLine.
Who wins the NBA Skills Challenge 2023? And which critical x-factor do you need to know about? Visit SportsLine now to get Mike Barner's pick for the NBA Skill Challenge, all from the expert who has crushed his NBA picks, and find out.
2023 NBA Skills Challenge odds, teams
See picks at SportsLine
Team Jazz -120
Team Rookies +165
Team Antetokounmpo +450
