There will be some interesting contestants in this year’s NBA 3-point contest, including Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell, and Atlanta Hawks hotshot Trae Young.
Another participant will be Damian Lillard, who was traded from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Milwaukee Bucks this past summer.
Per NBACentral, he is the favorite to win the 3-point shootout this weekend in Indianapolis.
Damian Lillard is the favorite to win the 3PT contest, per @BovadaOfficial
Damian Lillard +450
Malik Beasley +550
Tyrese Haliburton +550
Trae Young +600
Karl Anthony-Towns +600
Jalen Brunson +600
Lauri Markkanen +650
Donovan Mitchell +700(Via https://t.co/v17Gpu5peP) pic.twitter.com/gj1i4uay3g
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 15, 2024
Stars don’t always participate in this contest, but there have been several such players who have won it in the past, including Lillard, who took home the award last year in Salt Lake City.
Stephen Curry won it twice, as did Kyrie Irving, and when the contest was first held in the mid-1980s, Boston Celtics Hall of Famer Larry Bird won the title in its first three years.
Lillard has been struggling a bit to get himself fully integrated into his new team, and he’s shooting just 42.5 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from 3-point range, numbers that are significantly below his career marks.
But he is still a huge threat in crunch time, a time and place that he likes to call “Dame Time.”
The Bucks are 35-20 so far this season, which is a solid record, but they’re still underachieving relative to what many have been expecting from them.
While they’re second in scoring average, their defense has been lackluster, and it is something that will need to be rectified if they are to win their second NBA championship in the last four seasons.
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