The NFL Kansas City Chiefs are not the only ones looking to three-peat in the coming days. Bucks Damian Lillard will get a rare opportunity at a third straight 3-Point Contest title.
The Milwaukee Bucks star was one of eight contestants selected to the 2025 edition of the All-Star Weekend competition Friday by the NBA.
Lillard will be joined by the New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson, Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham, Cleveland Cavaliers’ Darius Garland, Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro, Golden State Warriors’ Buddy Hield, Brooklyn Nets’ Cam Johnson and Los Angeles Clippers’ Norman Powell.
Lillard won his first 3-Point title in Utah by narrowly defeating Hield and Indiana Pacers Tyrese Haliburton in a three-contestant final round of the 2023 contest.
The following year, he became the first back-to-back winner since Jason Kapono in 2008 by beating out Trae Young and 2022 three-point champ Karl Anthony-Towns on a contest-clinching final shot.
The 2024 All-Star event was a huge weekend for Lillard, who put up 11 more three-pointers during the 2024 All-Star Game to earn All-Star MVP honors in the Eastern Conference win.
To defend his 3-Point crown in 2024, Lillard will have to go up against some of the best shooters in the league next Saturday in San Francisco.
Embed from Getty ImagesHerro, who currently rounds out the top three in the NBA in three-pointers made, is burying 39.3 percent of his career-high 9.7 three-point attempts per game through 48 contests this season.
Powell, who was snubbed from an All-Star roster despite averaging career-best 23.9 points per game so far this season, leads all 3-Point Contest participants with a 43.1 percent clip from downtown.
Garland has meanwhile shot a career-high 42.9 percent from behind the arc so far this season, while Johnson is averaging a personal-best 19.3 points per game.
The NBA made the somewhat surprising decision to select Cunningham, who is shooting 35.4 percent from 3-point range, over his Pistons teammate Malik Beasley, who is the runner up behind Anthony Edwards from the Minnesota Timberwolves for the NBA lead in three-pointers made.
Hield, who won the event while representing the Sacramento Kings in 2020, is the only past winner to join Lillard in the competition. Brunson, meanwhile, heads into the contest with revenge on his mind, looking for redemption after a first-round elimination from the 2024 event.
The 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend is scheduled tip off February 14-16 at the Warriors’ home, the Chase Center in San Francisco. The 2025 3-Point Contest will take place on Saturday, February 15 as a part of All-Star Saturday Night.
