NEW YORK – Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs will defend his Taco Bell® Skills Challenge title against a field consisting of Jrue Holiday of the Philadelphia 76ers, Brandon Knight of the Detroit Pistons, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, Jeremy Lin of the Houston Rockets, and Jeff Teague of the Atlanta Hawks. The 2013 Taco Bell® Skills Challenge will take place on Feb. 16, at Toyota Center in Houston as part of State Farm All-Star Saturday Night.

Parker will attempt to join the Los Angeles Lakers’ Steve Nash (2005 and 2010) and the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade (2006 and 2007) as the only two-time winners in Taco Bell® Skills Challenge history. This year’s Taco Bell® Skills Challenge features an expanded six-player field for the second year in a row. There were five contestants in 2011 and four in 2010.

Also as part of this year’s event, six lucky teens will paired with the 2013 Taco Bell Skills Challenge participants and a total of $55,000 in educational scholarships will be awarded through the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens.

For the first time, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night will feature a new format that pits the Eastern Conference against the Western Conference in a night of competition that will raise money for charity. As part of the new format, points earned by each conference throughout the four All-Star Skills Competitions will determine the conference that earns the title of 2013 State Farm All-Star Saturday Night Champion.

Three players representing the Western Conference and three players representing the Eastern Conference will compete in the two-round competition. The two competitors with the fastest times from their respective conferences in the Team Round advance to the Championship Round. (Complete rules for the 2013 Taco Bell® Skills Challenge and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night attached).

This is the fourth year Taco Bell has offered the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens experience for teens at the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. In partnership with NBA Cares and the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens, each Taco Bell Skills Challenge player will be paired with an All-Star teen from a Houston area Boys & Girls Club who has shown outstanding leadership and determination to stay in school despite personal obstacles. All participating teens will receive the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens experience of a lifetime: a behind-the-scenes career tour of NBA All-Star; an opportunity to meet with NBA players; the chance to be on the court during the Taco Bell Skills Challenge to cheer on their NBA player; and an educational scholarship.

At the conclusion of this event, $55,000 in educational scholarships will be awarded to the participating All-Star teens. The teen paired with the winning Taco Bell Skills Challenge player will receive a $25,000 educational scholarship.

The Taco Bell Skills Challenge was introduced at NBA All-Star 2003 in Atlanta and features six players competing in a two-round timed “obstacle course” consisting of dribbling, passing and shooting stations. All players must observe basic NBA ball-handling rules while completing the course.

State Farm All-Star Saturday Night will also feature the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest; the Sears Shooting Stars; and the Sprite Slam Dunk contest. The NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 17, will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in 215 countries and will be broadcast in 47 languages.

Below are the participants for the 2013 Taco Bell Skills Challenge:

EASTERN CONFERENCE 2013 TACO BELL SKILLS CHALLENGE COMPETITORS

                            Participant, Team                                         Pos.                 Ht.                   Wt.

Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia 76ers                    G                     6-4                   180

Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks                           G                     6-2                   181

                      Brandon Knight, Detroit Pistons                    G                     6-3                   190

WESTERN CONFERENCE 2013 TACO BELL SKILLS CHALLENGE COMPETITORS

                           Participant, Team                                         Pos.                 Ht.                   Wt.

Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers           G                     6-3                   195

Jeremy Lin, Houston Rockets                         G                     6-3                   200

Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs                    G                     6-2                   185

TACO BELL SKILLS CHALLENGE YEAR-BY-YEAR WINNERS

2003 – Jason Kidd, New Jersey

2004 – Baron Davis, New Orleans

2005 – Steve Nash, Phoenix

2006 – Dwyane Wade, Miami

2007 – Dwyane Wade, Miami

2008 – Deron Williams, Utah

2009 – Derrick Rose, Chicago

2010 – Steve Nash, Phoenix

2011 – Stephen Curry, Golden State

2012 – Tony Parker, San Antonio

About Taco Bell Corp.

Taco Bell Corp., a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., (NYSE: YUM), is the nation’s leading Mexican-inspired quick service restaurant. Taco Bell serves made to order and customizable tacos, burritos, and specialties such as the exclusive Doritos® Locos Tacos, gourmet inspired Cantina Bell® Menu and lower calorie Fresco Menu. The company encourages customers to “Live Más,” both through its food and in ways such as its Feed the Beat® music program and nonprofit organization, the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens. Taco Bell and its more than 350 franchise organizations have nearly 6,000 restaurants across the United States that proudly serve more than 36 million customers every week.

About the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens

The Taco Bell Foundation for Teens, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation committed to inspiring and enabling teens to graduate high school through its programs, partnerships, and direct financial assistance. Every year, the Foundation serves more than 100,000 teens in more than 150 communities across the country and awards more than 350 grants and scholarships. Since 1992, we’ve awarded more than $30 million to support more than 1,000 teen-serving organizations in the U.S. with the help of ongoing customer, franchisee, employee and vendor partner donations. For more information visit tacobellforteens.org.