It was previously reported that Milwaukee Bucks superstar Damian Lillard would be returning for this year’s NBA 3-Point Contest to defend his crown. This came as no surprise considering how the 33-year-old is the competition’s defending champion. Naturally, the reigning champ had to return to fend off any challengers to his title.
As it turns out, however, Lillard will now need to battle an array of All-Stars en route to becoming the NBA’s back-to-back 3-Point king.
Milwaukee Bucks Star Damian Lillard’s 3-Point Contest Competitors, Revealed
According to NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic, at least four other players have already committed to joining the highly-anticipated shootout. Three of them are All-Stars, while the fourth one is one of Dame’s Milwaukee teammates.
Shams reports that first-time All-Star starter Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers will be in the lineup as he looks to bag the 3-point crown in front of the home crowd in Indianapolis. Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks will also participate, along with Utah Jazz big man Lauri Markkanen.
Quite the competition, right?
Looking at the numbers, Dame is knocking down 3.0 triples on a 34.7 percent clip. Haliburton, on the other hand, is averaging 3.2 makes per game on 39.8 percent shooting. Brunson is draining 2.7 triples on a 41.3 percent clip, while Markkanen has 3.2 3-pointers per contest while shooting 40.1 percent from beyond the arc.
The leader of the pack, however, is Malik Beasley of the Bucks. He too will be joining the line-up for the 3-point contest after leading the league in efficiency from distance. He is knocking down 45.1 percent of his 6.1 attempts per game, making him one of the deadliest sharpshooters in the NBA today.
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