Cavs nearly go back-to-back during NBA All-Star 2025

02/15/2025 11:09 PM

It’s over! It’s over! Cleveland is a city of NBA (All-Star Skills Challenge) Champions once again! To kick off the second day of NBA All-Star 2025 festivities, the Cavs superstar duo of Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley showcased their versatility in the four-team, two-man, NBA Skills Challenge.

Cleveland is the first NBA team to win the challenge twice since the event turned into a team format in 2022. It’s Mobley’s second time securing Skills Challenge honors, winning the inaugural event alongside Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen. For Mitchell, meanwhile, this was his first piece of All-Star memorabilia since capturing the 2018 Slam Dunk Contest title.

This year, the Skills Challenge format was a two-man competition comprised of four teams. Both players from the team went through an obstacle course that required them to hit a corner three over a windmill, make a free throw, and make passes to a target. Mobley and Mitchell started slow in their first round. Mobley missed more than a few shots and Mitchell fumbled the ball while trying to get it up the court. Still, it was enough to beat out two teams and advance to the finals.

The duo, appropriately named Team Cavs entered the final round against Team Warriors, who had posted the best first-round time behind their home crowd's energy. But Mobley and Mitchell adjusted to be quick yet precise with their shots to decrease their time.

The W I N N I N G round @NBAAllStar | #BestToTheBaypic.twitter.com/wej8DJ5psD

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) February 16, 2025

Mobley's ability to navigate the obstacle course and his shot-making was the difference, reminiscent of his rookie-year win, while Mitchell's elite passing abilities allowed him to easily move through the course and allowed Cleveland's duo to separate themselves down the stretch.

The Cavs weren’t quite finished after Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell’s NBA All-Star Championship!

With the NBA Three-Point competition immediately after the Skills Challenge, Mobley and Mitchell’s heroics were a tough act to follow. Regardless, it didn’t mean Cleveland’s night was done. Instead, sweet-shooting superstar guard Darius Garland tried to bring home another trophy to the Cavs during the three-point shoot-out.

For the second year in a row, Cleveland’s participant in the three-Point Contest came out with a custom jersey that wasn't their own. Last season Mitchell wore a "Money Merrill" jersey for sharpshooting teammate Sam Merrill. This year, Garland came out with a number 22 black Statement Edition Cavs jersey in honor of his dad Winston Garland, who was a seven-year NBA veteran.

Garland had a strong start. He finished with a score of 24 in the opening round. It was the second-highest score among the eight contests which earned him a trip to the final round with Buddy Hield and Herro.

Herro matched Garland's score of 24 in the second round. Unfortunately, Garland couldn't do the same. He was unable to find the rhythm he did in the first round as he managed just 19 points in the final round. Hield came up just one point short which gave Herro the title.

With Garland coming up several points short of defeating Herro, Cleveland’s three-point competition championship drought continues. Two Cavs players have won the competition with Mark Price doing it twice, going back-to-back during the 1993 and 1994 NBA All-Star Games, and Kyrie Irving doing so once during the 2013 NBA All-Star game.

Cleveland was critical to Mac McClung’s three-peat

Regardless of being unable to go back-to-back, Mobley did get one more taste of winning during the second night of NBA All-Star 2025. In his final attempt that made him a three-time Slam-Dunk Champion, Orlando Magic guard Mac McClung called out Mobley for an assist. Asking Mobley to hold the ball over his head, McClung cleared the Cavs superstar, tapped the ball off the rim, and threw the hammer down.

Jumped over Evan Mobley AND tapped the ball on the rim

IT'S A THREE-PEAT

Mac McClung, 2025 #ATTSlamDunk Champ! pic.twitter.com/vBYejtMMZX

— NBA (@NBA) February 16, 2025

Although the Cavs didn’t have anyone participating in the dunk contest, they were somehow still involved. The fact that a 6’2 McClung cleared an imposing 6’11 Mobley is impressive. Moreover, it set the tone for another great night during NBA All-Star 2025. It also quieted the annual noise surrounding the Dunk Contest.

With all that behind them, the Cavs will be well-represented in the weekend’s marquee game. All three of Mobley, Mitchell, and Garland will play in the 2025 NBA All-Star game. Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson and his coaching staff will also coach during the game.

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