Damian Lillard matches NBA Three-Point Contest mark in injury return
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Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (in orange shoes) during the Three-Point Contest at the 2026 NBA All-Star Saturday Night event in Los Angeles on Feb 14, when he won his third three-point crown.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LOS ANGELES – Damian Lillard, who has been out all season while recovering from a torn left Achilles tendon, matched a record by winning his third career National Basketball Association (NBA) Three-Point Contest on Feb 14.
Having received special approval from the league to participate, the Portland Trail Blazers guard beat the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker 29-27 in the final round.
“In a season where I’m not participating, the league allowing me to come in and do something like this to get some competition, feel a little bit of pressure, to get in front of the fans again, it was a great experience,” Lillard said.
The 35-year-old was injured in last season’s play-offs while with the Milwaukee Bucks. He was then waived by the Bucks and re-signed by the Trail Blazers, where he spent his first 11 NBA campaigns.
Showing the same solid form that made him one of the NBA’s top long-distance shooting threats, Lillard added the 2026 three-point crown to his triumphs in 2023 and 2024 to match the event win record shared by Larry Bird and Craig Hodges.
“That’s all I do it for, to keep adding to my legacy, adding to my reputation and being who I am,” Lillard said. “I was given the opportunity and I came out and took advantage of it.”
Lillard shot last in the opening round, where eight players battled for three spots in the final round.
Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel went first and made the final round with a score of 27 while 2018 winner Booker, the penultimate shooter, hit 30 before Lillard got 27 – including five in a row on the left wing – to advance over the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell, who had 24.
“You’ve got to just let the ball fly and trust your instincts as a shooter,” Lillard said. “You can’t be rattled when somebody else gets hot or when the crowd gets loud... you’ve just got to shoot and do you and that’s what I show up and do.”
In the final round, Knueppel opened with a score of 17, Lillard sank his final shot from the baseline to finish with 29 and Booker missed his last three shots, any of which would have seen him tie with Lillard.
“I was praying on his downfall,” Lillard admitted. “Coming in I could see it being me, Book and Kon at the end. I knew it would be stiff competition. He was in position. It just took for a couple of shots to rattle out, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”
In the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, the Miami Heat’s Keshad Johnson won the title with 97.4 points after a windmill dunk in the final round.
“I beat the odds. I made it. I made it into the NBA,” Johnson said. “Every year I was watching the NBA Dunk Contest, I dreamed of being out there, putting on a show for everybody.”
San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant put the ball between his legs before delivering a one-handed slam for a perfect 50 points in his first dunk in the final round.
But he repeatedly missed his next dunk attempt, an off-the-backboard reverse slam.
Not even advice from retired NBA dunk legend Vince Carter could help and after a final miss rimmed out, Bryant made a 360-degree dunk before time ran out but scored only 43 points and could not overtake Johnson.
In other NBA All-Star Saturday festivities, the Shooting Stars competition went to Team Knicks, consisting of the New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, as well as former Knicks star Allan Houston. AFP, REUTERS
