| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Competition | National Basketball Association |
| Discipline | Three-point shooting |
| Sponsored by | State Farm |
| History | |
| First award | Larry Bird, 1986 |
| Most wins | 3 times:
|
| Most recent | Damian Lillard, 2026 |
| Website | State Farm 3-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 contest was originally named the "Long Distance Shootout".
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 Portland Trail Blazers is the most recent winner of the event, which was held at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Buddy Hield also tied Steph Curry’s record of 31 points in the 2025 edition of the three-point contest.
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 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
- Larry Bird, the inaugural winner of this contest, Craig Hodges and Damian Lillard (incumbent) have each won three times, while Mark Price, Jeff Hornacek, Peja Stojaković, Jason Kapono, and Stephen Curry have each won twice.
- Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets is the most recent rookie to be invited to the contest.
- Craig Hodges and Jason Kapono hold the record for most shots made in one round (21/25, .840 percentage), Craig Hodges also holds the records of most consecutive shots made (19), most appearances (8), and most points (25 out of a possible 30 points, .833 percentage)
- Detlef Schrempf and Michael Jordan share the record for the fewest points scored in any round with five in 1988 and 1990, respectively.[10]
- Kyrie Irving is the youngest player to win the contest at the age of 20.
- Rimas Kurtinaitis is the only non-NBA player to participate in the contest.
- Dirk Nowitzki and Karl-Anthony Towns are the only 7-foot players to win the contest.
- Damian Lillard is the most recent player with consecutive titles.
Winners
| Active NBA player | |
| Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Denotes the tiebreaker score from the final round | |
| Player (#) | Denotes the number of times the player has won |
| Team (#) | Denotes the number of times a player from this team has won |
| Year | Player | Team | Final Score | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum Score: 30 | ||||
| 1986 | Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | 22 | .733 |
| 1987 | Larry Bird (2) | Boston Celtics (2) | 16 | .533 |
| 1988 | Larry Bird (3) | Boston Celtics (3) | 17 | .567 |
| 1989 | Dale Ellis | Seattle SuperSonics | 19 | .633 |
| 1990 | Craig Hodges | Chicago Bulls | 19 | .633 |
| 1991 | Craig Hodges (2) | Chicago Bulls (2) | 17 | .567 |
| 1992 | Craig Hodges (3) | Chicago Bulls (3) | 16 | .533 |
| 1993 | Mark Price | Cleveland Cavaliers | 18 | .600 |
| 1994 | Mark Price (2) | Cleveland Cavaliers (2) | 24 | .800 |
| 1995 | Glen Rice | Miami Heat | 17 | .567 |
| 1996 | Tim Legler | Washington Bullets | 20 | .667 |
| 1997 | Steve Kerr | Chicago Bulls (4) | 22 | .733 |
| 1998 | Jeff Hornacek | Utah Jazz | 16 | .533 |
| 1999 | Canceled due to the 1998–99 NBA lockout[a] | |||
| 2000 | Jeff Hornacek (2) | Utah Jazz (2) | 13 | .433 |
| 2001 | Ray Allen | Milwaukee Bucks | 19 | .633 |
| 2002 | Peja Stojaković | Sacramento Kings | 19 | .633 |
| 2003 | Peja Stojaković (2) | Sacramento Kings (2) | 22 | .733 |
| 2004 | Voshon Lenard | Denver Nuggets | 18 | .600 |
| 2005 | Quentin Richardson | Phoenix Suns | 19 | .633 |
| 2006 | Dirk Nowitzki | Dallas Mavericks | 18 | .600 |
| 2007[11] | Jason Kapono | Miami Heat (2) | 24 | .800 |
| 2008[1] | Jason Kapono (2) | Toronto Raptors | 25 | .833 |
| 2009 | Daequan Cook | Miami Heat (3) | 19 | .633 |
| 2010 | Paul Pierce | Boston Celtics (4) | 20 | .667 |
| 2011 | James Jones | Miami Heat (4) | 20 | .667 |
| 2012 | Kevin Love | Minnesota Timberwolves | 17 | .567 |
| 2013 | Kyrie Irving | Cleveland Cavaliers (3) | 23 | .767 |
| Maximum score: 34; included four extra "money balls" | ||||
| 2014 | Marco Belinelli | San Antonio Spurs | 24 | .706 |
| 2015 | Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | 27 | .794 |
| 2016 | Klay Thompson | Golden State Warriors | 27 | .794 |
| 2017 | Eric Gordon | Houston Rockets | 21 | .618 |
| 2018 | Devin Booker | Phoenix Suns (2) | 28 | .824 |
| 2019 | Joe Harris | Brooklyn Nets | 26 | .765 |
| Maximum score: 40; includes two extra long-range shots, worth three points each | ||||
| 2020 | Buddy Hield | Sacramento Kings (3) | 27 | .675 |
| 2021 | Stephen Curry (2) | Golden State Warriors (3) | 28 | .700 |
| 2022 | Karl-Anthony Towns | Minnesota Timberwolves (2) | 29 | .725 |
| 2023 | Damian Lillard | Portland Trail Blazers | 26 | .650 |
| 2024 | Damian Lillard (2) | Milwaukee Bucks (2) | 26 | .650 |
| 2025 | Tyler Herro | Miami Heat (5) | 24 | .600 |
| 2026 | Damian Lillard (3) | Portland Trail Blazers (2) | 29 | .725 |
Multi-time winners
| Wins | Player | Team(s) | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | 1986, 1987, 1988 |
| Craig Hodges | Chicago Bulls | 1990, 1991, 1992 | |
| Damian Lillard | Portland Trail Blazers (2), Milwaukee Bucks (1) | 2023, 2024, 2026 | |
| 2 | Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | 2015, 2021 |
| Jeff Hornacek | Utah Jazz | 1998, 2000 | |
| Jason Kapono | Miami Heat (1), Toronto Raptors (1) | 2007, 2008 | |
| Mark Price | Cleveland Cavaliers | 1993, 1994 | |
| Peja Stojaković | Sacramento Kings | 2002, 2003 |
Three Point Contest champions by franchise
| No. | Franchise | Last win |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Miami Heat | 2025 |
| 4 | Boston Celtics | 2010 |
| Chicago Bulls | 1997 | |
| 3 | Golden State Warriors | 2021 |
| Sacramento Kings | 2020 | |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 2013 | |
| 2 | Portland Trail Blazers | 2026 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 2024 | |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 2022 | |
| Phoenix Suns | 2018 | |
| Utah Jazz | 2000 | |
| 1 | Brooklyn Nets | 2019 |
| Houston Rockets | 2017 | |
| San Antonio Spurs | 2014 | |
| Toronto Raptors | 2008 | |
| Dallas Mavericks | 2006 | |
| Denver Nuggets | 2004 | |
| Washington Bullets | 1996 | |
| 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 |
| Year | Players |
|---|---|
| 1986 | Larry Bird, Dale Ellis, Sleepy Floyd, Craig Hodges, Norm Nixon, Kyle Macy, Trent Tucker, Leon Wood |
| 1987 | Danny Ainge, Larry Bird (2), Michael Cooper, Dale Ellis (2), Craig Hodges (2), Detlef Schrempf, Byron Scott, Kiki Vandeweghe |
| 1988 | Danny Ainge (2), Larry Bird (3), Dale Ellis (3), Craig Hodges (3), Mark Price, Detlef Schrempf (2), Byron Scott (2), Trent Tucker (2) |
| 1989 | Michael Adams, Danny Ainge (3), Dale Ellis (4), Derek Harper, Gerald Henderson, Craig Hodges (4), Rimas Kurtinaitis, Reggie Miller, Jon Sundvold |
| 1990 | Larry Bird (4), Craig Ehlo, Bobby Hansen, Craig Hodges (5), Michael Jordan, Reggie Miller (2), Mark Price (2), Jon Sundvold (2) |
| 1991 | Danny Ainge (4), Clyde Drexler, Tim Hardaway, Hersey Hawkins, Craig Hodges (6), Terry Porter, Glen Rice, Dennis Scott |
| 1992 | Dell Curry, Craig Ehlo (2), Craig Hodges (7), Jeff Hornacek, Jim Les, Dražen Petrović, Mitch Richmond, John Stockton |
| 1993 | B. J. Armstrong, Dana Barros, Craig Hodges (8), Dan Majerle, Reggie Miller (3), Terry Porter (2), Mark Price (3), Kenny Smith |
| 1994 | B. J. Armstrong (2), Dana Barros (2), Dell Curry (2), Dale Ellis (5), Steve Kerr, Eric Murdock, Mark Price (4), Mitch Richmond (2) |
| 1995 | Nick Anderson, Dana Barros (3), Scott Burrell, Steve Kerr (2), Dan Majerle (2), Reggie Miller (4), Chuck Person, Glen Rice (2) |
| 1996 | Dana Barros (4), Hubert Davis, Steve Kerr (3), Tim Legler, George McCloud, Glen Rice (3), Dennis Scott (2), Clifford R. Robinson |
| 1997 | Dale Ellis (6), Steve Kerr (4), Tim Legler (2), Terry Mills, Sam Perkins, Glen Rice (4), John Stockton (2), Walt Williams |
| 1998 | Hubert Davis (2), Dale Ellis (7), Jeff Hornacek (2), Sam Mack, Reggie Miller (5), Tracy Murray, Glen Rice (5), Charlie Ward |
| 1999 | Cancelled due to the 1998–99 NBA lockout[a] |
| 2000 | Ray Allen, Mike Bibby, Hubert Davis (3), Jeff Hornacek (3), Allen Iverson, Dirk Nowitzki, Terry Porter (3), Bob Sura |
| 2001 | Ray Allen (2), Pat Garrity, Allan Houston, Rashard Lewis, Dirk Nowitzki (2), Steve Nash, Bryon Russell, Peja Stojaković |
| 2002 | Ray Allen (3), Wesley Person, Mike Miller, Steve Nash (2), Paul Pierce, Quentin Richardson, Steve Smith, Peja Stojaković (2) |
| 2003 | Brent Barry, Pat Garrity (2), Wesley Person (2), Peja Stojaković (3), Antoine Walker, David Wesley |
| 2004 | Chauncey Billups, Kyle Korver, Voshon Lenard, Rashard Lewis (2), Cuttino Mobley, Peja Stojaković (4) |
| 2005 | Ray Allen (4), Joe Johnson, Voshon Lenard (2), Kyle Korver (2), Vladimir Radmanović, Quentin Richardson (2) |
| 2006 | Gilbert Arenas, Ray Allen (5), Chauncey Billups (2), Dirk Nowitzki (3), Quentin Richardson (3), Jason Terry |
| 2007 | Gilbert Arenas (2), Damon Jones, Jason Kapono, Mike Miller (2), Dirk Nowitzki (4), Jason Terry (2) |
| 2008 | Daniel Gibson, Richard Hamilton, Jason Kapono (2), Steve Nash (3), Dirk Nowitzki (5), Peja Stojaković (5) |
| 2009 | Mike Bibby (2), Daequan Cook, Danny Granger, Jason Kapono (3), Rashard Lewis (3), Roger Mason |
| 2010 | Chauncey Billups (3), Daequan Cook (2), Stephen Curry, Channing Frye, Danilo Gallinari, Paul Pierce (2) |
| 2011 | Ray Allen (6), Kevin Durant, Daniel Gibson (2), James Jones, Paul Pierce (3), Dorell Wright |
| 2012 | Ryan Anderson, Mario Chalmers, James Jones (2), Anthony Morrow, Kevin Love, Kevin Durant (2) |
| 2013 | Ryan Anderson (2), Matt Bonner, Stephen Curry (2), Paul George, Kyrie Irving, Steve Novak |
| 2014 | Arron Afflalo, Bradley Beal, Marco Belinelli, Stephen Curry (3), Kyrie Irving (2), Joe Johnson (2), Damian Lillard, Kevin Love (2) |
| 2015 | Marco Belinelli (2), Stephen Curry (4), James Harden, Kyrie Irving (3), Kyle Korver (3), Wesley Matthews, JJ Redick, Klay Thompson |
| 2016 | Devin Booker, James Harden (2), Kyle Lowry, Khris Middleton, JJ Redick (2), Klay Thompson (2), CJ McCollum[b], Stephen Curry (5) |
| 2017 | Klay Thompson (3), CJ McCollum (2), Kyle Lowry (2), Eric Gordon, Kyrie Irving (4), Kemba Walker, Nick Young, Wesley Matthews (2) |
| 2018 | Bradley Beal (2), Devin Booker (2), Wayne Ellington, Paul George (2), Tobias Harris, Klay Thompson (4), Eric Gordon (2) |
| 2019 | 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) |
| 2020 | Devin Booker (4), Buddy Hield (2), Trae Young, Joe Harris (2), Duncan Robinson, Zach LaVine, Devonte Graham, Dāvis Bertāns |
| 2021 | Donovan Mitchell, Stephen Curry (7), Mike Conley, Jayson Tatum, Zach LaVine (2), Jaylen Brown[c] |
| 2022 | Desmond Bane, Luke Kennard, CJ McCollum (3), Patty Mills, Zach LaVine (3), Karl-Anthony Towns, Fred VanVleet, Trae Young (2) |
| 2023 | Jayson Tatum (2), Buddy Hield (3), Damian Lillard (3), Tyler Herro, Kevin Huerter, Julius Randle, Tyrese Haliburton, Lauri Markkanen[d] |
| 2024[e] | Damian Lillard (4), Tyrese Haliburton (2), Donovan Mitchell (2), Lauri Markkanen (2), Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns (2), Malik Beasley, Trae Young (3) |
| 2025 | Jalen Brunson (2), Cade Cunningham, Darius Garland, Tyler Herro (2), Buddy Hield (4), Cameron Johnson, Damian Lillard (5), Norman Powell |
| 2026 | Devin Booker (5), Kon Knueppel, Damian Lillard (6), Tyrese Maxey, Donovan Mitchell (3), Jamal Murray, Bobby Portis Jr., Norman Powell (2) |
Records
Points
| 1st format: maximum score of 30 | |
| 2nd format: maximum score of 34 | |
| 3rd format: maximum score of 40 | |
| Player (#) | Denotes the number of times player is in the top 25 |
| Player (#) | Italics denotes the record was from a tiebreaker |
|
|
|
Shots made
| 1st and 2nd formats: maximum of 25 shots | |
| 3rd format: maximum of 27 shots | |
| Player (#) | Denotes the number of times player is in the top 25 |
| Player (#) | Italics denotes the record was from a tiebreaker |
|
|
|
Consecutive shots made
| 1st and 2nd formats: maximum of 25 shots | |
| 3rd format: maximum of 27 shots | |
| Player (#) | Denotes the number of times player is in the top 25 |
| Player (#) | Italics denotes the record was from a tiebreaker |
|
|
|
Criticism and controversies
In 2005, Fred Hoiberg became the first player in NBA history to lead the league in three-point shooting percentage and not be invited to the three-point shooting competition.
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.[16]
See also
- Three-Point Contest in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Notes
- The 1999 All-Star Game was cancelled due to the 1998–99 NBA lockout.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.[12]
References
- General
- "Shootout All-Time Winners". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc.
- "Shootout Round-by-Round Results: 2000–08". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008.
- "Shootout Round-by-Round Results: 1990–98". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on February 8, 2003.
- "Shootout Round-by-Round Results: 1986–89". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on May 28, 2008.
- "Shootout Records". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc.
- "All-Star Game Contests". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC.
- Specific
- McMenamin, Dave (February 20, 2008). "Kapono Lights Up Saturday Night". NBA.com. TurnerInteractive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 23, 2009.
- Nance, Roscoe (February 16, 2007). "East notes: Kapono taking shot at three-point crown". USA Today.
- "NBA All-Star Game: Shootout". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008.
- "Jason Kapono To Defend Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout Crown". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 6, 2008.
- Brown, Donald H. (2007). A Basketball Handbook. AuthorHouse. p. 85. ISBN 978-1425961909.
- Brown, Donald H. (2007). A Best of Basketball Story. AuthorHouse. p. 127. ISBN 978-1434341938.
- Marco Belinelli wins the Three-Point Shootout after Bradley Beal’s comeback forces a playoff, Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- "2020 MTN DEW 3-Point Contest". NBA.com.
- "Billups Named As Participant in Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 8, 2006.
- "NBA All-Star – 3 Point Shootout Contest". www.NBA-Allstar.com.
- "Jason Kapono is Three-Point Champ". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc.
- Philippou, Alexa (July 14, 2023). "Sabrina Ionescu scores record 37 points to win WNBA 3-point contest". ESPN.
- "Shootout Records". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc.
- "Quentin Richardson Bio". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on December 24, 2008.
- "Shootout Round-by-Round Results: 2000–08". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008.
- Kalbrosky, Bryan (February 17, 2024). "Fans criticized refs for allowing 3-point contest participants to shoot with their feet on the line". USA Today.