There’s more than pride on the line in the State Farm 3-Point Contest.
The crown jewel of NBA All-Star Saturday continues to pit the league’s top marksmen for a high-stakes shootout — with each superstar having something to play for.
This year’s field features multiple returning contest champions, including Devin Booker and a returning Damian Lillard, the latter of whom is looking to join Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only three-time winners of the 3-Point Contest.
But the overwhelming favorite is first-year sensation Kon Knueppel, who holds +300 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. Just the fifth ever rookie to compete in the event, let’s take a look at how predecessors have fared in the All-Star Weekend shootout.
Has a rookie ever won the NBA All-Star 3-Point Contest?
On the road to shattering the rookie regular-season threes record, Knueppel will make a quick pitstop in Inglewood and attempt to become the first NBA freshman to win the 3-Point Contest.
The Charlotte Hornets guard, who’s hit the NBA’s second-most threes this season at a blistering 43.1% clip, is just the fifth rookie to compete in the event — and the first in a decade.
The first rookie to participate was Orlando’s Dennis Scott in 1991, followed by Kyle Korver in 2005, Stephen Curry in 2010, and Devin Booker in 2016.
Curry went on to compete in the 3-Point Contest seven times throughout his career, and he took home the trophy in 2015 and 2021 — the latter of which came on a dramatic 31-point explosion in the final round.
Booker wound up winning in 2018, and he enters his fifth trip to the event this weekend with a shot at becoming the ninth multi-time contest champion.
While history isn’t on his side, the 20-year-old Knueppel tops a stacked field as the odds-on favorite to win this year’s contest. Can he buck the trend once and for all?
The State Farm 3-Point Contest will kick off NBA All-Star Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. Catch the action on Peacock.
