NBA 3-Point Contest 2017: Highlights, Odds and Predictions for Participants

The 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend kicks off this Friday, and there are a number of events scheduled for fans to enjoy. The actual All-Star Game and the celebrity game are going to be two of the biggest attractions, but the individual competitions—like the slam-dunk contest and the three-point challenge—could prove to be the most fun.

In this article, we're going to take a look at this year's three-point contest, which is scheduled for Saturday night. We'll take a look at this year's participants, highlighted by last year's champion Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors. We'll also look at the latest odds—courtesy of OddsShark.com—and make our predictions for the eventual outcome.

In addition, we'll run down all the relevant event information, including starting time and the rules.

2017 NBA Three-Point Contest

What: Three-Point Shooting Competition

Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans

When: Saturday, February 18

Time: 8 p.m. ET

National TV: TNT

Participants and Odds

Player	NBA Team	Odds
Klay Thompson	Golden State Warriors	5-4
Krie Irving	Cleveland Cavaliers	11-2
C.J. McCollum	Portland Trail Blazers	13-2
Eric Gordon	Houston Rockets	7-1
Kyle Lowry	Toronto Raptors	8-1
Nick Young	Los Angeles Lakers	17-2
Wes Matthews	Dallas Mavericks	9-1
Kemba Walker	Charlotte Hornets	12-1

Rules, Latest Buzz and Predictions

Rules

If you've never witnessed an NBA three-point competition before, you've definitely missed out on one of the more entertaining exhibitions in sports. You also probably have no clue how the competition actually works.

Here are the official rules, courtesy of NBA.com:

"

The JBL Three-Point Contest is a two-round, timed competition in which five shooting locations are positioned around the three-point arc.  Four racks contain four orange balls (each worth one point) and one multicolored “money” ball (worth two points).  The fifth rack is a special “all money ball” rack, which each participant can place at any of the five shooting locations.  Every ball on this rack is worth two points. 

The players have one minute to shoot as many as the 25 balls as they can.  The three competitors with the highest scores in the first round advance to the championship round.

"

Because of the way the competition is staged—and because of the presence of "money balls," there are different strategies players can employ during the game.

Rather than trying to make as many shots as possible, some participants will fire up the regular balls while focusing more on the two-point balls. Getting to that last rack is key, as there is the potential for 10 total points there.

Last year, Thompson made the last six money balls in the championship round of the competition in order to best teammate and 2015 winner Stephen Curry. As ESPN pointed out at the time, this made Thompson and Curry the first teammates to win the competition in back-to-back years:

Thompson Looking to Repeat; Gordon Looking to Compete

If Thompson can take home the three-point title again this year, it will mean the champion has come from the Warriors for a third consecutive year. It will also make Thompson the first player to win in back-to-back years since Jason Kapono did it in the 2007 and 2008 editions of the contest.

Kapopo, though, won while representing two different teams—first the Miami Heat, then the Toronto Raptors.

While Thompson is looking to add his second three-point title to the trophy case, Eric Gordon of the Houston Rockets is excited at the opportunity for his first.

"It's something I always dreamed about as a kid, being a part of," Gordon said, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. "Now, I have my chance. I'm going to take advantage, try to win. Growing up in Indianapolis, you always see Reggie Miller in it. This is something I always wanted to be a part of."

Considering Gordon has made over 38 percent of his three-point attempts this season, it would be unwise to count him out.

Predictions

It's difficult not to like Thompson to repeat in this contest. As evidenced by his win last year, he has the goods to deliver in the championship round should he get there.

It's likely that the only way Thompson doesn't make the championship round is some surprising performances from other competitors. While Thompson's three-point attempt average is down slightly (from 8.1 to 8.0 per game) this season, he's still making more than 42 percent.

However, we're going to pick Cleveland Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving to steal the competition from Thompson in the championship round here. Irving, who won the contest back in 2013, is making nearly 39 percent of his three-points attempts this season—roughly matching what he shot during the 2012-13 season.

Irving has emerged as a clutch outside shooter for the Cavaliers, and we'll pick him to deliver the clutch shots on Saturday.