Three-Point Contest

This article is about the contest held in the NBA. For the similar contest in the WNBA, see WNBA All-Star Game § Three-Point Contest.

The Three-Point Contest[1] is a National Basketball Association (NBA) contest held on the Saturday before the annual All-Star Game as part of All-Star weekend.

The 2019 iteration of the contest involved ten participants. From its introduction in 1986 to 2018, eight participants were selected to participate in each season's shootout. In 2002–2003 to 2012-2013 there were six participants. Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks is the most recent winner of the event which was held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Rules

In this contest, participants attempt to make as many three-point field goals as possible from five positions behind the three-point line in one minute. Players begin shooting from one corner of the court, and move from station to station along the three-point arc until they reach the other corner.[2] At each shooting station is a rack with five basketballs. Out of the five balls, four are worth one point (the standard orange Wilson game balls) and the fifth one (a red/white/blue ABA-style ball; often nicknamed the "money ball")[3][4] is worth two points. The goal of this contest is to score as many points as possible within one minute. A perfect score used to be 30 points.[5][6] Since the 2014 contest, a rack consisting only of "money balls" has been added, and can be placed on any of the 5 spots of the player's choice, bringing up the maximum possible score to 34 points.[7] In the 2020 contest, two additional Mountain Dew shots were placed on each side of the top of the key, worth three points each. This increased the maximum possible score to 40, and the time limit was increased from 60 to 70 seconds.[8]

In the qualifying round, each player has a chance to score as many points as possible. The three players with the top scores advance to the finals. The final round is played in the same way as the qualifying round, but players shoot according to the ascending order of their first-round scores. In each round, the shots and the score are confirmed by the referee and the television instant replay system.[4][9] The final round will be shot in reverse direction (left to right corner for a left-handed shooter and vice versa). In the case of a tie, multiple extra rounds of 30 seconds (1 minute in the final) are played to determine the winner.

Milestones

Winners

Larry Bird won three consecutive contests while playing with the Boston Celtics.
Jason Kapono won the contest in the 2006–07 and 2007–08 season while playing with the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat.
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors won the contest twice in 2015 and 2021.
Players with multiple titles
Rank Player Times
1 Larry Bird 3
Craig Hodges 3
3 Peja Stojaković 2
Jeff Hornacek 2
Mark Price 2
Jason Kapono 2
Stephen Curry 2
Damian Lillard 2
^ Denotes players who are still active
* Elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame
Player (#) Denotes the number of times the player has won
Team (#) Denotes the number of times a player from this team has won
Location (#) Denotes the number of times a location has hosted the competition
Season Location Player Nationality Team Final Score/Max % Score
1985–86 Dallas, Texas

Larry Bird*

 United States Boston Celtics 22 / 30 73.33%
1986–87 Seattle, Washington

Larry Bird* (2)

 United States Boston Celtics (2) 16 / 30 53.33%
1987–88 Chicago, Illinois Larry Bird* (3)  United States Boston Celtics (3) 17 / 30 56.67%
1988–89 Houston, Texas Dale Ellis  United States Seattle SuperSonics 19 / 30 63.33%
1989–90 Miami, Florida Craig Hodges  United States Chicago Bulls 19 / 30 63.33%
1990–91 Charlotte, North Carolina Craig Hodges (2)  United States Chicago Bulls (2) 17 / 30 56.67%
1991–92 Orlando, Florida Craig Hodges (3)  United States Chicago Bulls (3) 16 / 30 53.33%
1992–93 Salt Lake City, Utah Mark Price  United States Cleveland Cavaliers 18 / 30 60.00%
1993–94 Minneapolis, Minnesota Mark Price (2)  United States Cleveland Cavaliers (2) 24 / 30 80.00%
1994–95 Phoenix, Arizona Glen Rice  United States Miami Heat 17 / 30 56.67%
1995–96 San Antonio, Texas Tim Legler  United States Washington Bullets 20 / 30 66.67%
1996–97 Cleveland, Ohio Steve Kerr  United States Chicago Bulls (4) 22 / 30 73.33%
1997–98 New York City, New York Jeff Hornacek  United States Utah Jazz 16 / 30 53.33%
1998–99[a] Canceled due to the 1998–99 NBA lockout[a]
1999–00 Oakland, California Jeff Hornacek (2)  United States Utah Jazz (2) 13 / 30 43.33%
2000–01 Washington, D.C. Ray Allen*  United States Milwaukee Bucks 19 / 30 63.33%
2001–02 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Peja Stojaković  Serbia Sacramento Kings 19 / 30[b] 63.33%
2002–03 Atlanta, Georgia Peja Stojaković (2)  Serbia Sacramento Kings (2) 22 / 30[b] 73.33%
2003–04 Los Angeles, California Voshon Lenard  United States Denver Nuggets 18 / 30 60.00%
2004–05 Denver, Colorado Quentin Richardson  United States Phoenix Suns 19 / 30 63.33%
2005–06 Houston, Texas (2) Dirk Nowitzki*  Germany Dallas Mavericks 18 / 30 60.00%
2006–07[11] Las Vegas, Nevada Jason Kapono  United States Miami Heat (2) 24 / 30 80.00%
2007–08[1] New Orleans, Louisiana Jason Kapono (2)  United States Toronto Raptors 25 / 30 83.33%
2008–09 Phoenix, Arizona (2) Daequan Cook  United States Miami Heat (3) 19 / 30[b] 63.33%
2009–10 Dallas, Texas (2) Paul Pierce*  United States Boston Celtics (4) 20 / 30 66.67%
2010–11 Los Angeles, California (2) James Jones  United States Miami Heat (4) 20 / 30 66.67%
2011–12 Orlando, Florida (2)

Kevin Love^

 United States Minnesota Timberwolves 17 / 30[b] 56.67%
2012–13 Houston, Texas (3)

Kyrie Irving^

 United States Cleveland Cavaliers (3) 23 / 30 76.67%
2013–14 New Orleans, Louisiana (2) Marco Belinelli  Italy San Antonio Spurs 24[b] / 34[c] 70.59%
2014–15 Brooklyn, New York (2)

Stephen Curry^

 United States Golden State Warriors 27 / 34[c] 79.41%
2015–16 Toronto, Ontario

Klay Thompson^

 United States Golden State Warriors (2) 27 / 34[c] 79.41%
2016–17 New Orleans, Louisiana (3) Eric Gordon^  United States Houston Rockets 21[b] / 34[c] 61.76%
2017–18 Los Angeles, California (3) Devin Booker^  United States Phoenix Suns (2) 28 / 34[c] 82.35%
2018–19 Charlotte, North Carolina (2) Joe Harris^  United States Brooklyn Nets 26 / 34[c] 76.47%
2019–20 Chicago, Illinois (2) Buddy Hield^  Bahamas Sacramento Kings (3) 27 / 40[c][d] 67.5%
2020–21 Atlanta, Georgia (2) Stephen Curry^ (2)  United States Golden State Warriors (3) 28 / 40[c][d] 70.00
2021–22 Cleveland, Ohio (2) Karl-Anthony Towns^  Dominican Republic Minnesota Timberwolves (2) 29 / 40[c][d] 72.50%
2022–23 Salt Lake City, Utah (2) Damian Lillard^  United States Portland Trail Blazers 26 / 40[c][d] 65.00%
2023–24 Indianapolis, Indiana Damian Lillard^ (2)  United States Milwaukee Bucks (2) 26 / 40[c][d] 65.00%

Three Point Contest champions by franchise

No. Franchise Last win
4 Miami Heat 2011
4 Boston Celtics 2010
4 Chicago Bulls 1997
3 Golden State Warriors 2021
3 Sacramento Kings 2020
3 Cleveland Cavaliers 2013
2 Minnesota Timberwolves 2022
2 Phoenix Suns 2018
2 Utah Jazz 2000
2 Milwaukee Bucks 2024
1 Portland Trail Blazers 2023
1 Brooklyn Nets 2019
1 Houston Rockets 2017
1 San Antonio Spurs 2014
1 Toronto Raptors 2008
1 Dallas Mavericks 2006
1 Denver Nuggets 2004
1 Washington Bullets 1996
1 Seattle SuperSonics 1989

All-time participants

Player
(in bold text) 		Indicates the winner of the contest
Player (#) Denotes the number of times the player has been in the contest
Season Players
1985–86 Larry Bird, Dale Ellis, Sleepy Floyd, Craig Hodges, Norm Nixon, Kyle Macy, Trent Tucker, Leon Wood
1986–87 Danny Ainge, Larry Bird (2), Michael Cooper, Dale Ellis (2), Craig Hodges (2), Detlef Schrempf, Byron Scott, Kiki Vandeweghe
1987–88 Danny Ainge (2), Larry Bird (3), Dale Ellis (3), Craig Hodges (3), Mark Price, Detlef Schrempf (2), Byron Scott (2), Trent Tucker (2)
1988–89 Michael Adams, Danny Ainge (3), Dale Ellis (4), Derek Harper, Gerald Henderson, Craig Hodges (4), Rimas Kurtinaitis, Reggie Miller, Jon Sundvold
1989–90 Larry Bird (4), Craig Ehlo, Bobby Hansen, Craig Hodges (5), Michael Jordan, Reggie Miller (2), Mark Price (2), Jon Sundvold (2)
1990–91 Danny Ainge (4), Clyde Drexler, Tim Hardaway, Hersey Hawkins, Craig Hodges (6), Terry Porter, Glen Rice, Dennis Scott
1991–92 Dell Curry, Craig Ehlo (2), Craig Hodges (7), Jeff Hornacek, Jim Les, Dražen Petrović, Mitch Richmond, John Stockton
1992–93 B. J. Armstrong, Dana Barros, Craig Hodges (8), Dan Majerle, Reggie Miller (3), Terry Porter (2), Mark Price (3), Kenny Smith
1993–94 B. J. Armstrong (2), Dana Barros (2), Dell Curry (2), Dale Ellis (5), Steve Kerr, Eric Murdock, Mark Price (4), Mitch Richmond (2)
1994–95 Nick Anderson, Dana Barros (3), Scott Burrell, Steve Kerr (2), Dan Majerle (2), Reggie Miller (4), Chuck Person, Glen Rice (2)
1995–96 Dana Barros (4), Hubert Davis, Steve Kerr (3), Tim Legler, George McCloud, Glen Rice (3), Dennis Scott (2), Clifford R. Robinson
1996–97 Dale Ellis (6), Steve Kerr (4), Tim Legler (2), Terry Mills, Sam Perkins, Glen Rice (4), John Stockton (2), Walt Williams
1997–98 Hubert Davis (2), Dale Ellis (7), Jeff Hornacek (2), Sam Mack, Reggie Miller (5), Tracy Murray, Glen Rice (5), Charlie Ward
1998–99[a] Cancelled due to the 1998-99 NBA lockout
1999–00 Ray Allen, Mike Bibby, Hubert Davis (3), Jeff Hornacek (3), Allen Iverson, Dirk Nowitzki, Terry Porter (3), Bob Sura
2000–01 Ray Allen (2), Pat Garrity, Allan Houston, Rashard Lewis, Dirk Nowitzki (2), Steve Nash, Bryon Russell, Peja Stojaković
2001–02 Ray Allen (3), Wesley Person, Mike Miller, Steve Nash (2), Paul Pierce, Quentin Richardson, Steve Smith, Peja Stojaković (2)
2002–03 Brent Barry, Pat Garrity (2), Wesley Person (2), Peja Stojaković (3), Antoine Walker, David Wesley
2003–04 Chauncey Billups, Kyle Korver, Voshon Lenard, Rashard Lewis (2), Cuttino Mobley, Peja Stojaković (4)
2004–05 Ray Allen (4), Joe Johnson, Voshon Lenard (2), Kyle Korver (2), Vladimir Radmanović, Quentin Richardson (2)
2005–06 Gilbert Arenas, Ray Allen (5), Chauncey Billups (2), Dirk Nowitzki (3), Quentin Richardson (3), Jason Terry
2006–07 Gilbert Arenas (2), Damon Jones, Jason Kapono, Mike Miller (2), Dirk Nowitzki (4), Jason Terry (2)
2007–08 Daniel Gibson, Richard Hamilton, Jason Kapono (2), Steve Nash (3), Dirk Nowitzki (5), Peja Stojaković (5)
2008–09 Mike Bibby (2), Daequan Cook, Danny Granger, Jason Kapono (3), Rashard Lewis (3), Roger Mason
2009–10 Chauncey Billups (3), Daequan Cook (2), Stephen Curry, Channing Frye, Danilo Gallinari, Paul Pierce (2)
2010–11 Ray Allen (6), Kevin Durant, Daniel Gibson (2), James Jones, Paul Pierce (3), Dorell Wright
2011–12 Ryan Anderson, Mario Chalmers, James Jones (2), Anthony Morrow, Kevin Love, Kevin Durant (2)
2012–13 Ryan Anderson (2), Matt Bonner, Stephen Curry (2), Paul George, Kyrie Irving, Steve Novak
2013–14 Arron Afflalo, Bradley Beal, Marco Belinelli, Stephen Curry (3), Kyrie Irving (2), Joe Johnson (2), Damian Lillard, Kevin Love (2)
2014–15 Marco Belinelli (2), Stephen Curry (4), James Harden, Kyrie Irving (3), Kyle Korver (3), Wesley Matthews, JJ Redick, Klay Thompson
2015–16 Devin Booker, James Harden (2), Kyle Lowry, Khris Middleton, JJ Redick (2), Klay Thompson (2), CJ McCollum, Stephen Curry (5)[e]
2016–17 Klay Thompson (3), CJ McCollum (2), Kyle Lowry (2), Eric Gordon, Kyrie Irving (4), Kemba Walker, Nick Young, Wesley Matthews (2)
2017–18 Bradley Beal (2), Devin Booker (2), Wayne Ellington, Paul George (2), Tobias Harris, Klay Thompson (4), Eric Gordon (2)
2018–19 Joe Harris, Kemba Walker (2), Khris Middleton, Seth Curry, Damian Lillard (2), Buddy Hield, Danny Green, Devin Booker (3), Dirk Nowitzki (6), Stephen Curry (6)
2019–20 Devin Booker (4), Buddy Hield (2), Trae Young, Joe Harris (2), Duncan Robinson, Zach LaVine, Devonte Graham, Dāvis Bertāns
2020–21 Donovan Mitchell, Stephen Curry (7), Mike Conley, Jayson Tatum, Zach LaVine (2), Jaylen Brown[f]
2021–22 Desmond Bane, Luke Kennard, CJ McCollum (3), Patty Mills, Zach LaVine (3), Karl-Anthony Towns, Fred VanVleet, Trae Young (2)
2022–23 Jayson Tatum (2), Buddy Hield (3), Damian Lillard (3), Tyler Herro, Kevin Huerter, Julius Randle, Tyrese Haliburton, Lauri Markkanen[g]
2023–24 Damian Lillard (4), Tyrese Haliburton (2), Donovan Mitchell (2), Lauri Markkanen (2), Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns (2), Malik Beasley, Trae Young (3)

Records

Sources:[1][11][12][13]

Sponsors

Sources:[1][14]

Season Sponsor
1985–86 American Airlines
1986–87 American Airlines, Sheraton
1987–88 American Airlines, Sheraton
1988–89 American Airlines, Sheraton
1989–90 American Airlines, Sheraton
1990–91 American Airlines, Sheraton
1991–92 American Airlines, Sheraton
1992–93 American Airlines, Sheraton
1993–94 AT&T
1994–95 AT&T
1993–94 AT&T
1994–95 AT&T
1995–96 AT&T
1996–97 AT&T
1997–98 AT&T
1998–99 AT&T
1999–2000 AT&T
2000–01 1-800-CALL-ATT
2000–01 1-800-CALL-ATT
2001–02 1-800-CALL-ATT
2002–03 1-800-CALL-ATT
2003–04 Footlocker
2004–05 Footlocker
2005–06 Footlocker
2006–07 Footlocker
2007–08 Footlocker
2008–09 Footlocker
2009–10 Footlocker
2010–11 Footlocker
2011–12 Footlocker
2012–13 Footlocker
2013–14 Footlocker
2014–15 Footlocker
2015–16 Footlocker
2016–17 JBL
2017–18 JBL
2018–19 Mountain Dew
2019–20 Mountain Dew
2020–21 Mountain Dew
2021–22 Mountain Dew
2022–23 Starry
2023–24 Starry

Criticism and controversies

In the 2024 three-point contest, fans expressed dissatisfaction with referees for permitting participants, notably Karl-Anthony Towns, to shoot while their feet were on the line.[15]

See also

Notes

  • a The 1999 All-Star Game was cancelled due to the 1998–99 NBA lockout.
  • b Denote contests that required a tiebreaking round. The final score given here came from the tiebreaker.[16]
  • c Starting with the 2014 Three-Point Contest, the format includes four extra "money balls".
  • d Starting with the 2020 Three-Point Contest, the format includes two extra long-range shots, worth three points each.
  • e CJ McCollum was named as a replacement to Chris Bosh due to the latter being unable to participate in the event with a calf injury (and later on, a blood clot in his leg).
  • f Mike Conley was named as a replacement to Devin Booker due to the latter being unable to participate in the event with a knee injury.
  • g Julius Randle was named as a replacement to Anfernee Simons due to the latter being unable to participate in the event with an ankle injury.
  • h Stephen Curry competed with Sabrina Ionescu of the WNBA's New York Liberty in an independent three-point shootout during the 2024 All-Star Weekend. Ionescu set the single-round record by an NBA or WNBA player during the 2023 WNBA All Star Weekend in Las Vegas with a second-round score of 37.[17]

References

General
  • "Shootout All-Time Winners". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  • "Shootout Round-by-Round Results: 2000–08". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  • "Shootout Round-by-Round Results: 1990–98". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on February 8, 2003. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  • "Shootout Round-by-Round Results: 1986–89". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  • "Shootout Records". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  • "All-Star Game Contests". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
Specific
  1. ^ a b c d McMenamin, Dave (February 20, 2008). "Kapono Lights Up Saturday Night". NBA.com. TurnerInteractive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  2. ^ Nance, Roscoe (February 16, 2007). "East notes: Kapono taking shot at three-point crown". USA Today. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
  3. ^ "NBA All-Star Game: Shootout". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
  4. ^ a b "Jason Kapono To Defend Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout Crown". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 6, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  5. ^ Brown, Donald H. (2007). A Basketball Handbook. AuthorHouse. p. 85. ISBN 978-1425961909.
  6. ^ Brown, Donald H. (2007). A Best of Basketball Story. AuthorHouse. p. 127. ISBN 978-1434341938.
  7. ^ Marco Belinelli wins the Three-Point Shootout after Bradley Beal’s comeback forces a playoff, Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  8. ^ "2020 MTN DEW 3-Point Contest".
  9. ^ "Billups Named As Participant in Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 8, 2006. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  10. ^ "NBA All-Star – 3 Point Shootout Contest". www.NBA-Allstar.com.
  11. ^ a b "Jason Kapono is Three-Point Champ". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  12. ^ "Shootout Records". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  13. ^ "Quentin Richardson Bio". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on December 24, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  14. ^ "Shootout & Sponsor Records". NBA.com. CNN. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  15. ^ Kalbrosky, Bryan (February 17, 2024). "Fans criticized refs for allowing 3-point contest participants to shoot with their feet on the line". USA Today.
  16. ^ "Shootout Round-by-Round Results: 2000–08". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  17. ^ Philippou, Alexa (14 July 2023). "Sabrina Ionescu scores record 37 points to win WNBA 3-point contest". ESPN. Retrieved 15 July 2023.