Evan Mobley plays the hero as Team Cavs win NBA's depraved new Skills Challenge

Evan Mobley is having the kind of rookie year the Cavaliers could only dream of, and now he's added another achievement to his resume.

The rookie big man hit a half-court shot to end the NBA All-Star Skills Challenge, winning the event alongside All-Star teammates Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen on Team Cavs. The trio beat out Team Rooks (Cade Cunningham, Josh Giddey, Scottie Barnes) in the final event, a race for the first half-court shot.

Team Antetokounmpos (Giannis, Thanasis, Alex) came in third, missing out on the finals in a tiebreaker against the Cavs.

Previously a race through a sort of dribbling, shooting and passing obstacle course, the NBA retooled the Skills Challenge to make it a team event, but the end result could best be described as bizarre.

How the NBA's new Skills Challenge played out

The contest broke down like this. Each team of three players competed in a series of four challenges, with the first three granting points to decide which two teams compete in the final challenge.

The first was a shooting challenge, with all three players shooting for points from various spots on the floor while their teammates rebounded. Thanks to Garland's lights-out shooting, the Cavs took the first 100 points.

Next up was a passing challenge in which each team had all three players try to pass the ball into as many targets as possible. The Antetokounmpo brothers came out on top there, for another 100 points.

The third challenge most resembled the Skills Challenges of old, a time trial with each player going through a course that required a pass, a short jumper, a 3-point shot and running the floor for a layup. Team Rooks got 200 points for posting the shortest time together.

With the Cavaliers and Antetokounmpos tied going into the final round, the contest went onto a tiebreaker in which each team sent a player to make a 3-point shot. Garland again delivered, making his first shot from the top of the arc.

If that all sounds overly complicated, it was. But at least the NBA got the result it probably wanted, the hometown team raising the trophy.

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