Damian Lillard hasn’t played all year. He’s been sidelined by the torn Achilles he suffered last postseason with the Milwaukee Bucks. A little thing like that didn’t prevent him from showing up to reclaim his three-point contest crown at NBA All-Star Weekend. ‘
Not only did Lillard show up, he made sure everyone knew what time it was: that’s right, Dame Time. Winning his third contest puts Lillard in some accomplished company among marksmen of the game’s history.
Damian Lillard becomes one of 3 contestants to win 3 times
Aside from Lillard, two others have won the event that many times (neither did it while rehabbing an Achilles tear): Larry Bird and Craig Hodges. Bird and Hodges tallied their triumphs in three consecutive seasons.
Dame joined them by pouring in 29 points in the final round to defeat Devin Booker (27 points) and Kon Knueppel (17), the Hornets’ rookie sensation and a Milwaukee native.
Bobby Portis, participating in the contest for the first time, scored an event-low 15 in the opening round (that’s okay, BP, we know you’re just saving up for real games).
One of Lillard’s previous two victories, in 2024, came in a Bucks jersey. He also won in 2023 with the Trail Blazers.
He is, among the trio of three-time winners, the most prolific long-range shooter. Lillard ranks fifth-all time in made threes with 2,804, one of four active players in the top five.
By comparison, Bird is prehistoric in his three-point volume, an artifact of an era when shots beyond the arc were still a novelty. Bird never made more than 90 in a season and finished with 649 made threes in his career.
Hodges’ career overlapped almost completely with Bird’s – in fact, they both retired from the NBA in 1992 – making their status as co-achievers, until Lillard came long to join them, all the quirkier. As opposed to Bird, more of a volume scorer from the midrange, Hodges was the an early prototype of the so-called 3-point specialist – back before just about every shooter in the NBA become one.
Hodges, who spent three and a half seasons in Milwaukee, led the league in 3-point percentage the same year he was traded from the Bucks, the second time he did so in his career. Hodges converted at a whopping 49.1 clip at 2.7 attempts per game.
If Lillard participates next year, after hopefully being healthy enough to play actual games beforehand, all eyes will be on him and his chance to become the first player ever with four or more victories.
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