Damian Lillard has now won the NBA Three-Point Contest in back-to-back seasons, and it turns out the key to success is simply not practicing for it.
“I didn’t prepare at all, I think that’s the key to it,” Lillard said. “And I kept telling (Malik Beasley) like, my first two times I did it, I was practicing I had racks. I was doing all this stuff trying to get ready for it and I went out there and just didn’t win.”
Lillard decided to change his approach in the lead-up to last year’s contest and emerged victorious.
“Then last year I just went in there, I never practiced, I never shot off a rack, I didn’t do nothing,” Lillard continued. “I just showed up and won. So this year I was telling him like, ‘You trying too hard, you doing all this practicing, you talking about it a lot. Just show up and just shoot.’ I think that’s what’s gonna best because when you practicing all that, you just constantly thinking about it.”
Lillard first participated in the contest in 2014 and failed to advance to the final round, as he finished third with 18 points. He then took part in 2019, but could only manage 17 points, and again failed to advance to the final round.
With no practice in the lead-up to the contest in 2023, Lillard advanced to the final round with 26 points in the first. He then recorded 26 again in the final round to win it. Funnily enough, it was the exact same story in this year’s contest. The 33-year-old had 26 points in both rounds to win the contest, and it very much seems like the magic number.
As for his Milwaukee Bucks teammate Malik Beasley, he only managed to get 20 points in the first round and was eliminated. Perhaps Beasley should take Lillard’s advice if he is to win it at some point in the future.
With this triumph, Lillard, who is averaging 24.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.0 steals per game this season, became just the seventh player to ever win the contest back-to-back. He joined Larry Bird, Craig Hodges, Mark Price, Jeff Hornacek, Peja Stojakovic, and Jason Kapono.
Damian Lillard Wants To Three-Peat
Bird and Hodges are the only players to have ever won the contest thrice and they both did it in three consecutive years. Lillard hopes to join them, as the eight-time All-Star is open to competing in the contest next year as well.
Damian Lillard tells NBA on TNT, Bleacher Report that after winning back-to-back 3-Point Contest championships, he’s open to going for a three-peat since All-Star Weekend is in his hometown of The Bay Area next year.”
Damian Lillard tells @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport that after winning back-to-back 3-Point Contest championships, he’s open to going for a three-peat since All-Star Weekend is in his hometown of The Bay Area next year.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 18, 2024
The last time a player had a shot at winning three in a row was when Kapono attempted it in 2009. He came up short by just one point in the second round back then, and it shows just how small the margins can be.
I would certainly give Lillard a good chance at winning the contest next year, provided Stephen Curry isn’t taking part. Curry faced Sabrina Ionescu in the first-ever NBA vs. NBA Three-Point Contest later in the night and won by posting a score of 29. It was the highest score of the night and showed once again who is the best shooter on the planet.
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