3P 2019-2010

2019 NBA ALL-STAR 3-POINT CONTEST CHARLOTTE

• Saturday, Feb. 16 | 8 p.m. ET (2nd event)
• Televised on TNT
• Spectrum Center, Charlotte

Contestants

• Devon Booker, defending Three Point Champion (see also all 3-Point Champions)
• Stephen Curry
• Seth Curry
• Dirk Nowitzki
• Damian Lillard
• Buddy Hield
• Danny Green
• Joe Harris
• Khris Middleton
• Kemba Walker

• Defending champion Booker set a new record last year, scoring 28 out of a maximum of 34 points. So the competition for Nowitzki was very strong, after all he was the best 3-pointer of all times among the participants. Stephen Curry won the title in 2015. This time his little brother Seth was also a contestant in the Three Points Shootout.

📸 Your 2019 #MtnDew3PT Field! 📸#StateFarmSaturday on @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/cTxiHjKoeH

— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 17, 2019

• There were five stations, each with five balls. The players could choose one of these stations as their Money Ball Rack, the points from there counted double. Otherwise there was one point per hit and the last ball per rack counted double as well. The time limit for the players was 60 seconds.
• Harris was the starter and was considered a secret favorite by many people due to his strong performance in the league. The guard scored a total of 25 points and made all of the last eight throws. Walker followed, but he got off to a bad start. Only half way through, it was obvious that his performance will not be good enough (15 points).
• Middleton performed even worse: 11 points. He didn’t perform at any of the racks. Seth Curry seemed to have got into a good rhythm early, but lost accuracy from the middle rack on. His four hits at the second station brought him at least 16 points.
• Damian Lillard, who threw quite slowly, only scored 17 points, which was a bit of a surprise. Hield played much faster and had nine points after two racks. He took advantage of his money balls in particular (8/9) and qualified for the final with 26 points. Check out Damian Lillard gear here
• Green also convinced with the Money Balls (7/9), but the 23 points were not enough for him to proceed to the final round. Another surprise was the performance of Nowitzki, who actually played all balls in time. Nevertheless, there was even an airball right at the beginning and only towards the end the accuracy of the Mavs legend increased (17 points).
• So it was Stephen Curry’s and Booker’s turn. The double MVP pocketed every throw from rack two, four and five, which was his money rack. With 27 points, he took the lead and built up a lot of pressure for the Suns player. He hit his Money Balls, but at the beginning he was simply not accurate enough. Consequently, the attempt to defend his title ended after the first round (23 points).
• Harris delivered again. Not only did the Nets player hit twelve 3-pointers in a row, but he also transformed each of his money balls. A strong 26 points were the result.

Joe Harris goes perfect on his money ball rack and wins the #MtnDew3PT contest with a final round score of 26! #NBAAllStar #WeGoHard #StateFarmSaturday on @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/xw7WABBHeW

— NBA (@NBA) February 17, 2019

• Meanwhile, Hield could not maintain his level and had issues at the third station. Even a decent finish brought him only 19 points.
• Shortly after the clock started for Curry, the contest seemed to be decided already. Curry hit his first nine throws immediately. After that, the pace slowed down and Curry came under pressure. At the Money Rack, Steph needed all 10 points to equalize, but he missed one throw. 24 points were not enough for him to win.
• With Joe Harris, there was a new Three Points Shootout Champion.
• In the interview, Harris mentioned that it helped him to be the first to throw, as he could warm up before. So he started directly with a good rhythm, but his phenomenal performance in the final round just also highlighted his phenomenal 3-point skills.

THREE POINT RESULTS 2019

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PREVIEW

BACK-TO-BACK FOR D-BOOK?

• Reigning 3-point champion Devin Booker will participate in the contest for the third time in his career. Booker, a 32% from behind the arc this season, has tied his career-high 24.9 points per game so far.
• Last year, Booker also set the record for most three-pointers made in a single round earning 28 of a possible 34 points in the final round, defeating Tobias Harris and Klay Thompson.

THE CURRY FAMILY

• Dell Curry participated in the 1992 and ‘94 three-point contests as a member of the Charlotte Hornets. This year, his All-Star Saturday Night will surely be filled with nostalgia as he watches his sons Stephen and Seth go head to head in this season’s contest.
• The Curry’s grew up in Charlotte while Dell was with the team, allowing them to get an up close view at aspects of the NBA life from a young age. Now, the two are living it.
• Over the course of their NBA careers, Steph, 30, has gotten the best of Seth, 28, going 7-1 in games where both played. They have each shot 44% from three-point range throughout their careers, with Seth (48%, good for second in the NBA) edging out Steph (45%) so far this year.
• The highly competitive brothers have been vocal about their excitement for the competition. “Just being in Charlotte, there’s a nice story-line,” Stephen told Adrian Wojnarowski. He also stated his awareness of Seth’s potential in the contest, “I know [Seth] is going to be gunning for me, though. That’s the problem.” That is expected, particularly after Seth said “he thinks” he is the better shooter of the two on FS1’s Undisputed last year.
• No matter the result, one thing is guaranteed: a fun-filled, high-skilled night full of memories for the entire Curry family.

NOWITZKI’S GOOD-BYE CONTEST?

• The other story going into the night is Dirk Nowitzki. The 40-year old will partake in the competition for the 6th time. He previously competed in 2000, 2001, 2006, 2007, and 2008.
• In 2006, he became the only 7-footer to ever win the contest. Should Dirk take home the title this year, he would also become the oldest player to win the contest.
• Throughout his illustrious career, he has shot 38% from behind the arc, but has been limited to 26% this year (12-46) in 16 games.
• Dirk has not publicly expressed any plans to retire at the conclusion of the season, but it is widely expected among many in the NBA, including the fans, which is partly what led to this selection.

THE SECOND TIME FOR DAMIAN LILLARD

• The fourth contestant is Seth Curry’s teammate, Damian Lillard. Lillard is shooting 37% from distance this year, matching his career average. He has shown exceptional range, and continues to improve every year.
• This will be Lillard’s second appearance in the contest, previously competing in 2014. With a Trailblazer having competed in 2015 (Wesley Matthews), 2016 (CJ McCollum), and 2017 (McCollum), Lillard’s participation will mark the fourth time in the past five years that the Trailblazers will be represented in the contest.

FIRST PLAYER TO REPRESENT THE KINGS SINCE 2004

• The sixth contestant is Bahamian Buddy Hield. In each year since he was traded to Sacramento, he has increased his threes per game and three-point percentage. Hield is currently averaging career highs in minutes, points (20.3), threes (3.4), three-point percentage (46%), rebounds, assists, and blocks.
• He has fit perfectly into the Kings’ young system with backcourt mate De’Aaron Fox. He is able to create off the dribble and be consistent on catch and shoot threes as well. Hield will be the first player to represent the Kings since Peja Stojakovic did it four years in a row, from 2000-2004.

THE NORTH’S FOURTH STRAIGHT REPRESENTATIVE

• Toronto will send Danny Green to the three-point contest, marking the fourth straight year a Raptor has participated.
• Kyle Lowry participated in the previous three contests. Although Green is only scoring 9.9 points per game, he is shooting 42% from three-point range, while making just over two per game.
• After being traded with Kawhi Leonard from San Antonio, Green has played a crucial role in the Raptors offense. Not to mention, his WS/48 (estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player per 48 minutes) is the highest it has been since the 2014-15 season. It is surprising, but this will be the sharpshooter’s first time participating in the contest.

“JOEY BUCKETS” GETS IN 3-POINT CONTEST

• Joe Harris will be the first Net to participate in the contest since Joe Johnson during the 2014 All-Star weekend.
• Harris is currently shooting 45% from three-point range, good for fourth in the league trailing only Seth Curry, San Antonio’s Davis Bertans, and Buddy Hield. He is making more threes at a higher rate than he ever has in his career.
• With D’Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Jarrett Allen all showing potential stardom this year, Harris’ production gets lost in the excitement, but he is crucial to the Nets’ success this season.

MIDDLETON EARNS SECOND APPEARANCE

• Khris Middleton will participate in the three-point contest for the second time in his career, previously competing during the 2016 All-Star weekend. Middleton, shooting 38% from behind the arc, has also earned his first career All-Star Game appearance.
• He and Giannis Antetekounmpo have led the Bucks to a 39-13 record, good for first in the Eastern Conference. Because he has played in the small market of Milwaukee for his entire career outside of his rookie season (with Detroit), much of his production has gone under appreciated until this year.
• In 2016’s contest, Middleton was eliminated after one round with a score of 13, the lowest of the contest.

HOMETOWN HERO

• Hometown hero Kemba Walker will participate for the second time in his career. Walker is shooting 36% this year, and although that is his lowest over the past four years, he is averaging a career-high 24.6 points per game.
• Walker took part in the 2017 contest, making it to the finals before coming in third behind Kyrie Irving and Eric Gordon.
• Kemba will attempt to become the first player in NBA history to win a three-point contest in his home arena.

The All-Star festivities were relocated from Charlotte to New Orleans in 2017 because of controversy regarding the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act. Because of this, it will be the first time Charlotte has hosted an All-Star Weekend since 1991, when Chicago’s Craig Hodges won his first of back-to-back three-point contests.

– Jackson Goldman –