9) Deron Williams wins the Skills Challenge; February 16, 2008
Although he wouldn’t play in his first All-Star Game until 2010, Deron Williams made a splash as a Jazzman in the Skills Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend 2008 in New Orleans.
Facing a veritable who’s-who of backcourt stars from the late 2000s, D-Will bested a field including Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Jason Kidd to take the title. Not only that — he did it by completing the greatest final round the challenge had ever seen.
After clocking a strong time of 31.2 seconds in the opening round without really extending himself physically, Williams went into attack mode for the finals. As a result, he killed every station, didn’t miss a single shot throughout his run and ultimately logged a winning time of 25.5 seconds.
That was the fastest-ever final run and just 0.1 seconds off Steve Nash’s event record set during Round 1 of the 2005 contest.