Two years ago, Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns became the first big to win the 3-point contest since another Minnesota forward did so 10 years prior; that'd be current Miami Heat big man Kevin Love.
After missing last season's All-Star festivities due to injury, Towns is back competing in the Starry 3-Point Contest on Saturday night and playing in the 2024 NBA All-Star game on Sunday.
This season, the 3-point contest will feature eight of the game's best shooters. The players are as follows: Towns, Milwaukee Bucks' Malik Beasley, New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson, Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton, Bucks' Damian Lillard, Utah Jazz's Lauri Markkanen, Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell, and Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young.
Of the field, only two have brought home the coveted trophy, Towns and Lillard. The latter is fifth all-time in 3-pointers made. Towns, on the the hand, ranks 168th all-time. However, when assessing 3-point percentage, the Wolves' big man comes in at 54th place on the all-time leaderboards.
In the 37-year history of the event, 28 players have been crowned champion. There have been seven, multi-time winners. Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry is the only active player to win the contest twice. Both Towns and Lillard are vying to become the eighth multi-time champion.
Amongst the participants, Bucks sharpshooter Lillard is the favorite to win. Haliburton comes in at second, while Young rounds out the top three. Minnesota's Towns has the third longest odds at winning the competition.
The 2024 Starry 3-point contest will follow the same format as the previous four seasons. Four of the racks contain four regular balls and a two-point "money" ball. The fifth rack is an "all-money ball" rack. Additionally, players will attempt a shot from the "Starry" range. This will be a deep shot worth three points.
Finally, each contestant has 70 seconds to shoot as many of the 27 balls as they can. The highest three scores from the first round will advance to the second round where the highest second-round scorer will be crowned champion.
Now without further ado, we'll analyze each of the eight contestants and predict the winner of the 2024 Starry 3-Point Contest.