NEW YORK – Reigning champion Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers and DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors, both All-Stars for the first time this year, headline the list of participants for the 2014 Taco Bell® Skills Challenge (#TacoBellSkills), taking place during State Farm® All-Star Saturday Night (#StateFarmSaturday), at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Saturday, Feb. 15.  Lillard, the 2012-13 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, also is participating in the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest and Sprite Slam Dunk, becoming the first player to appear in three events during State Farm All-Star Saturday Night.  He also is participating in the 2014 BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Feb. 14, and the 2014 NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 16.

State Farm All-Star Saturday Night will be exclusively televised on TNT.  The event also will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio and will collectively reach fans in 215 countries and territories in more than 47 languages.

The Taco Bell® Skills Challenge is introducing a new format that features four teams of two players each competing in a two-round timed relay-style course consisting of dribbling, passing and shooting stations.

Representing the Eastern Conference are DeRozan and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks on one team, and  Michael Carter-Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers and Victor Oladipo of the Orlando Magic on the other. Antetokounmpo, Carter-Williams and Oladipo are also participating in the 2014 BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge.

Joining Lillard on one Western Conference team is Trey Burke of the Utah Jazz, while Reggie Jackson of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Goran Dragic of the Phoenix Suns comprise the other.

As part of this year’s 2014 Taco Bell® Skills Challenge, four lucky teens will paired with the NBA participants. Through the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens, a total of $120,000 will be donated in support of educational scholarships and to Boys & Girls Clubs of America, with the teen paired with the winning team receiving a $30,000 educational scholarship.

For the second consecutive year, the Eastern and Western conferences will compete during State Farm All-Star Saturday Night in an evening of challenges that will raise money for charity.  NBA Cares and State Farm will make a joint donation of $500,000 as part of the event, with $100,000 awarded to each event’s winning conference’s charities and $25,000 going to the charities of the runner-up for each event. The Eastern Conference will be playing for the American Heart Association and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF while the Western Conference will compete for Teach for America and Wounded Warrior Project^®. All-Stars Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and George, winner of the 2012-13 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award, will serve as captains of the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively. The charities were selected by George and Curry, the NBA, and State Farm.

All teams must observe basic NBA ball-handling rules while completing the course.  The fastest team from each Conference during the First Round will advance to the Championship Round.  The fastest team in the Championship Round will win the 2014 Taco Bell® Skills Challenge.

2014 TACO BELL SKILLS CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS 

EASTERN CONFERENCE 2014 TACO BELL SKILLS CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS 

                           Team One                                                       Pos.                 Ht.                   Wt.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks  G/F            6-9                            205

DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors                 G                      6-7                   220

                     

Team Two                                                       Pos.                 Ht.                   Wt.

Michael Carter-Williams, Phila. 76ers           G                      6-6                   185

Victor Oladipo, Orlando Magic                      G                      6-5                   214

                      WESTERN CONFERENCE 2014 TACO BELL SKILLS CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS 

                           Team One                                                       Pos.                 Ht.                   Wt.

Trey Burke, Utah Jazz                                     G                      6-0                   190

Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers           G                      6-3                   195

Team Two                                                       Pos.                 Ht.                   Wt.

Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns                           G                      6-4                   180

Reggie Jackson, Oklahoma City Thunder       G                      6-3                   208

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.

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About Taco Bell Foundation for Teens™

Taco Bell Foundation Inc., also known as Taco Bell Foundation for Teens™, is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation committed to inspiring and enabling America’s teens to achieve más through its programs, partnerships, and direct financial assistance. Every year, the Foundation serves more than 100,000 teens  in more than 180 communities across the country and awards more than 300 grants and scholarships focused on education and career preparedness. Since 1992, the Foundation has awarded more than $42 million in support of more than 1,000 teen-serving organizations in the U.S. through customer, franchisee, employee and vendor-partner donations. For more information visit tacobellforteens.org, and find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TacoBell4Teens.

About State Farm^®

State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 18,000 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 44 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.