NBA 3 Point Contest 2025: Highlights, Odds and Predictions for Participants
Calling all net-shredders, bucket-getters and lovers of the long-ball.
NBA All-Star Weekend is (almost) here, meaning it's just about time for the 3-Point Contest.
This event sometimes felt like a fun aside during All-Star Saturday, but it has sometimes taken center stage in recent years, which makes sense given the perpetually climbing significance of perimeter shooting.
There are eight lights-out shooters in this event, including one who's gunning for a record-tying third consecutive title. Let's help build the hype with a look at the participants, contest odds and predictions for this celebration of sweet shooting.
Meet the Marksmen
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Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Brunson might be more known as a scorer than shooter, but that's more of a testament to the former than a sign of any lacking with the latter. Since joining the Knicks in 2022-23, he's averaging 2.4 threes per outing with a 40.4 percent success rate.
Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
A first-time All-Star and Detroit's first honoree since 2019, Cunningham probably wouldn't (and certainly shouldn't) count outside shooting as his greatest strength. Still, he has never averaged more three-point attempts (6.3) and only once shot a better percentage from distance (35.3)
Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers
Garland has long been a flame-thrower, but his three-ball has never run hotter than it's been this season. His 3.0 triples per outing and 43.8 percent splash rate are both career-highs for the sixth-year pro and second-time All-Star.
Tyler Herro, Miami Heat
Five different players have hit 10 threes in a game this season, per StatHead Basketball. Two of them are in this event. One is Damian Lillard, an accomplished player in this contest who we'll discuss more in a minute. The other is Herro, a first-time All-Star connecting on nearly 39 percent of his perimeter shots despite firing up almost 10 per outing.
Buddy Hield, Golden State Warriors
Hield won this event in 2020 and remains one of basketball's best quality-plus-quantity shooters. This is the seventh season in which he's averaged 2.5-plus threes per game, and he's shot at least 37 percent from distance in all of them.
Cameron Johnson, Brooklyn Nets
Johnson might've been the most-discussed trade candidate who wasn't actually moved at the deadline, and his three-point stroke is a big reason why rival front offices kept ringing up Brooklyn's. He is one of only seven qualified shooters averaging three-plus three-pointers and shooting 41-plus percent from range.
Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks
Lillard has claimed the throne at the last two three-point contests, and a third consecutive win would match him with Craig Hodges and Larry Bird for the most in NBA history. Lillard's 153 three-pointers are tied for 12th-most in the league, and his 38.2 three-point percentage is eighth-best among that elite group.
Norman Powell, Los Angeles Clippers
Powell has been a revelation for the Clippers in a lot of ways this season, and his outside shooting plays a big part in that. The 31-year-old is averaging nearly one three-pointer more per game than his previous personal-best (3.4) while simultaneously posting the second-best splash rate of his career (42.9).
3-Point Contest Odds
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Damian Lillard 360 (bet $100 to win $360)
Buddy Hield 480
Tyler Herro 550
Norman Powell 550
Darius Garland 600
Jalen Brunson 750
Cameron Johnson 900
Cade Cunningham 1100
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Predictions
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Winning this event once is hard enough. Conquering it three times in a row would be a truly Herculean accomplishment.
That's especially true when this field is so stacked with sharpshooters that it feels as if almost anything could happen. The one true shocker would be if Cunningham were to capture the crown. That's not intended as a slight to Detroit's centerpiece, but he's by far the least accomplished shooter in this field.
Lillard's experience will help, though. It's not only about being accustomed to performing under this special set of bright lights, it's being familiar with the unique formula. Remember, this isn't just about making the most shots. It's about maximizing the value of the chosen money-ball-only rack and hopefully converting at least one of the two extra-long-range shots worth three points apiece.
Lillard knows what it takes to win. He's done it twice. He also has the kind of effortless, repeatable form needed to do well under the clock, plus the in-the-gym range needed to cash in those deep-distance bonuses.
He'll get pushed, probably by Herro, almost certainly by Hield and quite possibly by just about every shooter in this field. In the end, though, Dame Time will deliver, and Lillard will etch his name into the history books.
For all the latest betting information and reaction, check out B/R Betting.
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