Since its inception in 1986, Larry Bird and Craig Hodges are the only players so far to win the NBA All-Star 3-Point contest three times.
Damian Lillard has a chance to join that elite company next week.
The two-time defending champion guns for a three-peat in this year’s edition at the Bay Area, headlining a stacked field that include fellow All-Stars Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, Darius Garland, and Tyler Herro, as well as the likes of Buddy Hield, Cam Johnson, and Norman Powell.
Lillard took home his first 3-Point shootout title two years ago in Salt Lake City after beating Tyrese Haliburton and Hield in the final round.
Last year, the Milwaukee Bucks star toppled Trae Young and 2022 champion Karl Anthony-Towns to become the event’s first repeat winner since Jason Kapono in 2007-08.
The 2024 NBA All-Star Game MVP drilled 26 out of a possible 40 points in the final round, including connecting four buckets in a row on the second-to-last rack of balls on his way to victory.
Hodges was the last person to win the 3-Point contest three times in a row, ruling the competition from 1990 to 1992. Before that, Bird toppled the event’s first three editions from 1986 to 1988.
Besides Lillard, Kapono, Bird, and Hodges, Mark Price and Peja Stojakovic are the only players to win the 3-point contest twice in their careers.
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