Damian Lillard has secured his second consecutive Starry 3-Point Contest championship on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium, marking a thrilling contest that came down to the wire.
Lillard’s victory established him as the first player to repeat in 15 years, winning the contest in back-to-back years for the first time since Jason Kapono in 2007-2008, but it did not come easy.
Lillard’s triumph was nearly thwarted, with the final moments teetering on the brink of defeat.
Lillard Becomes First Repeat 3-Point Contest Champion In 15 years
During a final showdown that included 2022’s 3-point contest champion Karl-Anthony Towns and Atlanta Hawks sharpshooter Trae Young, Lillard hit a critical series of four shots from the penultimate ball rack, approaching the last rack with just one more shot needed to clinch the win.
The tension rose as Lillard’s subsequent four attempts from the corner missed their mark, holding the audience in suspense.
However, Lillard’s last attempt found its mark, decisively ending the contest.
The competition began with Young setting a high standard, scoring 26 points as the night’s first shooter. The round concluded with Young, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, Towns, and Lillard all tied, leading to a 30-second tiebreaker to select the finalists.
The contest format includes four racks of five balls each, positioned around the 3-point arc. Each rack has four regular game balls worth one point and a multi-colored Starry “money ball” worth two points.
Additionally, the contest features an all-money-ball rack, introduced six years prior, consisting of balls that are each worth two points and can be placed at any spot around the arc.
Young successfully hit all shots from his all-money-ball rack in both the initial round and the tiebreaker, though his perfect streak ended with his last shot in the final round.
A new element was introduced last season with the addition of two “Starry” balls, placed on pedestals beyond the 3-point line and worth three points each, which Lillard managed to capitalize on in both the tiebreaker and the finals.
Lillard joins an elite group of players, including Larry Bird, Craig Hodges, Mark Price, and Peja Stojakovic, as the league’s repeat champions in the 3-point contest, mirroring Kapono’s consecutive wins.
