NEW YORK – Four guards from the Eastern Conference All-Star team – starters John Wall of the Washington Wizards and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors, as well as reserves Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls and Jeff Teague of the Atlanta Hawks – and defending champion Trey Burke of the Utah Jazz will headline the 2015 Taco Bell^® Skills Challenge during State Farm^® All-Star Saturday Night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Saturday, Feb. 14.

TNT will exclusively televise the Taco Bell^® Skills Challenge, which features a head-to-head, bracket-style tournament format for the first time. The Philadelphia 76ers’ Michael Carter-Williams, the Milwaukee Bucks’ Brandon Knight and the Phoenix Suns’ Isaiah Thomas complete an eight-player field for the three-round, obstacle-course competition that tests dribbling, passing, agility and shooting skills.

Wall, who leads the NBA in assists (10.2 apg), will be appearing in the Taco Bell^® Skills Challenge for the third time. His first-round opponent will be Thomas, who ranks second in scoring among NBA reserves (15.4 ppg). Wall will also play in his second All-Star Game, on Sunday, Feb. 15, at Madison Square Garden, where he will be joined by first-time All-Stars Lowry, Butler and Teague.

Lowry, the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for December, is matched up in the first round of the Taco Bell^® Skills Challenge against Butler, the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for October/November. Teague, one of three All-Stars for the East-leading Hawks, faces Carter-Williams, the 2013-14 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year. Carter-Williams will also compete in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 13, at Barclays Center, as will Burke, who was part of last year’s winning team in the Taco Bell^® Skills Challenge. Burke’s first-round opponent will be Knight, who leads the Bucks in scoring (17.9 ppg) and assists (5.3 apg).

The Taco Bell^® Skills Challenge format calls for two players to compete simultaneously on an identical course with the fastest finisher reaching the next round. In the first round, the eight players have been paired to participate in four head-to-head competitions. The four winners advance to the second round, where two more head-to-head showdowns will determine the two finalists. Complete rules can be found at mediacentral.nba.com.

As part of this year’s Taco Bell^® Skills Challenge, four lucky teens will be paired with the NBA participants. Through the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens™, $120,000 will be donated to local Boys & Girls Clubs in support of educational scholarships and teen empowerment. Each teen participating in the Challenge will receive educational scholarships between $10,000 and $30,000.

NBA All-Star 2015 in New York City will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game. The 64^th NBA All-Star Game will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages. TNT will televise the All-Star Game for the 13^th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports’ 30th year of All-Star coverage, as well as the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night. Other events at Barclays Center include the NBA Development League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire and the NBA Development League Dream Factory presented by Boost Mobile on Sunday, Feb. 15, airing on NBA TV. Madison Square Garden will host Friday night’s ESPN-televised Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.

Below is the roster for the 2015 Taco Bell^® Skills Challenge, the bracket and a list of previous winners:

2015 TACO BELL^® SKILLS CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS

Participant, Team                                                                Pos.      Ht.        Wt.

Trey Burke, Utah Jazz                                                              G          6-1       185
Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls                                                   G/F      6-7        22
Michael Carter-Williams, Philadelphia 76ers                      G         6-6        190
Brandon Knight, Milwaukee Bucks                                       G         6-3        189
Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors                                                 G         6-0        205
Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks                                                     G         6-2        181
Isaiah Thomas, Phoenix Suns                                                  G         5-9        185
John Wall, Washington Wizards                                            G         6-4        195

TACO BELL® SKILLS CHALLENGE 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
2013 – Damian Lillard, Portland
2014 – Trey Burke, Utah and Damian Lillard, Portland

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 Power® Menu and lower calorie Fresco Menu. Taco Bell Breakfast offers portable, classic items such as the A.M. Crunchwrap, Waffle Taco and signature burritos. The company encourages customers to “Live Más,” both through its food and in ways such as its Feed The Beat® music program and its 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 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 graduate from high school and achieve más through its programs, partnerships, and direct financial assistance. Since 1992, the Foundation has served over 2 million teens in 6,000 communities across the country where Taco Bell restaurants have a presence. Through the support of our customers, franchisees, employees and vendor-partners over the last 20 years, the Foundation has awarded more than $45 million in grants and scholarships focused on education and career readiness. For more information on the Foundation and its commitment to teens – Taco Bell team members, friends and future leaders – 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. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 18,000 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve over 82 million policies and accounts – nearly 80 million auto, home, life, health and commercial policies, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 41 on the 2014 Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com.