Milwaukee Bucks shooting guard Damian Lillard won the NBA three-point contest as part of All-Star Weekend for the second year in a row. Competing with Bucks teammate Malik Beasley against six other NBA stars, Lillard displayed the clutch shooting tendencies that have made him one of the most popular and fun to watch stars in the league.
Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young, Indian Pacers guard (and Oshkosh, Wisconsin native) Tyrese Haliburton, and Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl Anthony-Towns all scored 26 in their opening round. Beasley was eliminated when he only scored 20, while Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz all failed to tie the top three scorers.
As the defending three-point contest champion, Lillard went last, needing 26 to tie the other three and force a tie-breaker. With the pressure on, Lillard scored his 26 to force the shoot-off. Again going last, Lillard out-scored each of the other contestants and eliminated Haliburton.
Related: Milwaukee Bucks Fans React to Damian Lillard’s 2nd-Straight 3-Point Contest Victory
In the final round, Young held the lead with 25 points when Lillard took the court. With one second remaining, Lillard drained one of the “money” balls, worth two points, to give him the one-point victory over Young. It was as clutch a performance as has been seen in the three-point contest. But that didn’t stop the sports world’s biggest hater from sharing his obtuse opinion.
Skip Bayless Disrespects Milwaukee Bucks Guard Damian Lillard’s Three-Point Contest Victory
Following Lillard’s clutch victory in the NBA three-point contest, Skip Bayless posted the following on X (formerly Twitter):
Also … just once I’d love to see Damian Lillard make some clutch threes in an NBA Finals … or even in a conference finals.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) February 18, 2024
Leave it to Bayless to be so infuriating after a player puts on a great individual performance. Imagine thinking that shooting uncontested three point shots in a contest midseason is anything like shooting contested shots in the playoff game. But then again, Skip has as much experience as a professional athlete as the average person. That is none.
Milwaukee Bucks Guard Damian Lillard’s Three-Point Percentage in the NBA Playoffs Compared to the Regular Season
For his career, Lillard is a 37% three point shooter in the regular season. In his entire career, he has had only three seasons in which he failed to shoot at least 36% from three: his rookie season, his third year in the NBA, and this year (so far).
But the narrative that he is not a good three-point shooter in the playoffs simply isn’t true. In 12 playoff series, Lillard’s three-point percentage is 36.9%. In the last playoff series he played in, he shot a blistering 44.9% from three while averaging 34.3 points and 10.2 assists per game. In the 2019 Western Conference Finals, he shot 36.8% from three.
The entire reason that Dame wanted to be traded away from Portland to begin with was because he did not want to rebuild. He wanted to play for a team that could win now. And while the Bucks are going through it right now, no one can deny the potential that they have.
Lillard has not been himself for much of the regular season, but he proved he still can be. And if he is, and if he plays the way his career averages have been, the Bucks will go a long way.
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