LeBron James Says He Won't Take Part in 2018 3-Point Shooting Contest

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James said he's planning to spend time with family during the 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles rather than take part in any of the Saturday night showcase events.

On Friday, The Athletic passed along comments the 13-time All-Star Game selection made when asked whether he was thinking about taking part in the three-point shooting contest.

"Not when I can spend a Saturday night at home with my family," James said.

Although the 32-year-old Ohio native has been linked to a possible appearance in the Slam Dunk Contest over the years, he's always opted against the marquee Saturday event. He made it clear back in 2012 that wasn't going to change.

"No," James said about taking part in the dunk competition. "It's over with. I'm getting too old for that. ... There were times when I wanted to do it. But I came into All-Star Weekend a few times banged up and I didn't want to risk further injury."

His success from beyond the arc this season raised questions about whether he might consider the three-point contest. He's shooting 42.5 percent from long range, well above his 34.4 percent career mark, and his 2.0 threes made per game also puts him on pace to set a new career high.

The improvement comes after James said back in January he wanted to become more consistent from outside to put more pressure on opposing defenses.

"I have the ability to make threes," he told reporters. "It doesn't drive my game. Teams sag off me or tempt me to shoot, I've got to go up and knock them down. I've got to keep defenses at bay and keep them off balance throughout the whole game where they're just not keying in on my drive or keying in on my postups. I've got to be able to knock down some outside shots too, so I work on that as well."

Now, 11 months later, he ranks 33rd in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage after finishing last season 87th in that category.