The league has announced the participants for the three-point shooting contest. Kyle Korver, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson headline the group while last year's champion Marco Belinelli will be defending his crown. Sharpshooters J.J. Redick and Wesley Matthews will also be a part of the competition.
NBA All-Star three-point contest: Korver, Curry and Thompson headline the event
Kyle Korver will get a third chance at getting the title in a year in which he’s shooting over 50 percent from outside, but he will have to defeat some of the best shooters in the game like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
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The field is the best it’s been in years thanks to the inclusion of The Splash Brothers, Curry and Thompson. Along with Korver, who is having a historically good year from downtown, it lends the competition a star power that not even the dunk contest can compete with. If the three-point contest lives up to the hype, it could be the highlight of Saturday’s events.
Let’s meet the participants in the order of which they will be competing:
Wesley Matthews
Matthews remains underrated despite playing at a high level for the Trail Blazers for the past five years. He leads the league in three-point field goal attempts with 7.7 a game and connects on 40 percent of them. Matthews might not have All-Star credentials, but he is one of the most consistent shooters in the league, with his three-point percentage always ending somewhere between 38 percent and 41 percent.
J.J. Redick
Redick has always been known for his shooting stroke, but this season he has become one of the most fearsome snipers in the league, jumping from a very good 39 percent from outside in 2013/14 to an elite 43 percent in 2014/15, a career high. Redick’s season high for makes in a single game is only five but he has a picture perfect release and is used to hitting high difficulty shots coming off screens. Going through the racks in the contest will be easy by comparison.
James Harden
The Rockets guard is taking nearly seven three-pointers per game this season, and is making them at a 38.7 percent clip. Harden is one of the front-runners for MVP and likely to be named a starter in the All-Star Game as a replacement for the injured Kobe Bryant. Harden’s presence gives the event even more star-power. He’s been carrying the Rockets through injuries all season, leading the NBA in scoring while also averaging nearly seven assists per game.
Kyrie Irving
Irving has had quite a bit of success at All-Star Weekend in his young career, earning some type of honor each of the last three years. The 22-year-old won the NBA Rising Stars Challenge MVP as a rookie in 2012, the three-point contest in 2013 and the All-Star Game MVP in 2014. He’ll go for his second three-point shooting contest win this year, and though he won’t be a favorite, don’t count him out. He’s shooting nearly 41 percent from three on the season, and he recently made a Cavaliers franchise-record 11 threes in his 55-point performance against Portland.
Stephen Curry
Curry is the biggest star in the competition, arguably the front runner for the MVP award and the best player on the best team in the league. He is also one of the most prolific three-point shooters in the league, averaging the second highest mark in three-point attempts per game. Curry is a career 43 percent shooter and his quick release and calm under pressure makes him a threat to win the contest, but he’s “only” connecting on just under 40 percent of his three-pointers this year, a career low.
Klay Thompson
Klay Thompson is a career 42 percent shooter from outside but is not even considered the best marksman on his own team thanks to sharing a backcourt with Curry. The side competition between the two should be as fun as the contest itself. Thompson is having a breakout year, averaging career highs in all the main statistical categories and shooting nearly 45 percent from beyond the arc in over seven attempts per game. He set an NBA record with 37 points in a single quarter against the Kings, hitting all of his nine three-point attempts in the period. When he gets hot, he doesn't miss.
Kyle Korver
Korver is easily the best shooter in the game, leading the league in three-pointers made and three-point shooting percentage at a ridiculous 54 percent. Korver participated in the event twice already in 2004 and 2005 but didn’t win. Of course, at that point he had only been in the league two years and was not the player he is today. This time, Korver is a favorite to come away with the trophy.
Marco Belinelli
Belinelli was leading the league in three-point shooting percentage last season at the time of the All-Star break, so he received an invitation. He won the event and is now coming back to defend the title. After shooting 43 percent from the three-point line last season, he's down to a pedestrian 37 percent this year and has been in and out of the Spurs lineup due to injury. Despite being the less heralded player of the six, the fact that he has already won the title makes it impossible to discount him.
The The Foot Locker three-point contest will be held Saturday, Feb. 14, in the Barclays Center. TNT will televise and the broadcast starts at 8.30 p.m. ET.
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