Curry to defend Skills Challenge crown

Golden State guard Stephen Curry will look to join the Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash and the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade as the only two-time winners of the Taco Bell Skills Challenge when he returns to defend his crown on February 25 at Amway Center in Orlando.

The rest of the field, which has expanded from five to six, will consist of Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs, John Wall of the Washington Wizards, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder and 2008 winner Deron Williams of the New Jersey Nets.

The Taco Bell Skills Challenge was introduced at NBA All-Star Weekend in 2003 and features six players competing in a two-round timed obstacle course consisting of dribbling, passing and shooting stations.

Irving, the first overall pick in the 2011 draft, leads all rookies in scoring with 18.3 points per game. Wall, who was also selected first overall back in 2010, leads the Wizards with 7.5 assists per game. Parker paces the Spurs in both scoring (19.4 ppg) and assists (7.8 apg), while Westbrook's 23.2 points per game ranks fifth in the NBA. Williams, whose 25.5 second performance in 2008 stands as the current record, rounds out the competition's field.

Curry is averaging 17.2 points and a team-high 6.5 assists per game. He faced off with Westbrook in last year's final, posting a final round time of 28.3 seconds to claim the title.