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First-time Boston Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum will compete in another event other than the 2020 NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 16. Tatum has accepted an invitation to defend his title in the league's Skills Challenge, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum has accepted invite to defend title in Skills Challenge at NBA All-Star weekend in Chicago, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 4, 2020
Tatum, 21, won the competition in 2019, and besides the first-time All-Star selection for the third-year Celtics forward, the former Duke Blue Devil will have another invite to Chicago for the Saturday night festivities. The Skills Challenge, first instituted in 2003 and won by then–New Jersey Nets point guard Jason Kidd, will have its defending champion in the mix.
Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who had a strong All-Star candidacy this season, won the Skills Challenge the year before Tatum. Dinwiddie recently apologized for a curse-laden comment on the NBA not inviting the guard back to the competition.
The third overall pick from the 2017 draft, Tatum is averaging a career-best 21.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game in 45 appearances during the 2019-20 season for the Celtics. Another Boston player in veteran point guard Kemba Walker will also participate alongside Tatum in the 2020 All-Star Game.
Tatum and Walker's teammate, fourth-year wing Jaylen Brown, narrowly missed turning it into a Celtics party in Chicago next weekend with a third All-Star. Brown is having a career year himself in the backcourt after one-time NBA champion point guard Kyrie Irving's departure via free agency last summer.
The All-Star weekend will no doubt be a celebration for the Celtics given their regular-season success during the 2019-20 season; right now they're the third-best team in the Eastern Conference.
