Lillard aims to win three consecutive three-point contests and tie Bird & Hodges' record

On February 9 , the NBA officially announced the full list of participants for the 2025 All-Star Weekend Three-Point Contest. The competition will be held in San Francisco, and Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard will strive for his third consecutive three-point contest title, aiming to tie the records of NBA legends Larry Bird and Craig Hodges .

There are eight players participating in this year's All-Star Three-Point Contest, namely Jalen Brunson of the Knicks, Cade Cunningham of the Pistons, Darius Garland of the Cavaliers, Tyler Herro of the Heat, Buddy Hield of the 76ers, Cameron Johnson of the Nets, Damian Lillard of the Trail Blazers and Norman Powell of the Clippers.

Lillard has won the last two three-point contests with 26 points in the final rounds. This year, he will strive for a three-peat. If successful, he will tie Bird (1986-1988) and Hodges (1990-1992) for three consecutive championships, becoming the third player in NBA history to achieve this feat.

In terms of three-point shooting percentage this season, Powell of the Clippers leads all participants with 43.1%, followed by Garland (42.9%), Johnson (41.7%), Brunson (39.7%), and Herro (39.3%). Lillard's three-point shooting percentage is 37.9%, ranking sixth, while Hield (37.1%) and Cunningham (35.4%) are the last two. Although Lillard's shooting percentage is not the highest, as the defending champion, his shooting ability and performance in key moments are still a major highlight of the game.

It is worth mentioning that Powell currently ranks ninth in the NBA's official three-point shooting percentage rankings, while the top eight players are Luke Kennard, Domantas Sabonis, Nikola Jokic, Taurean Prince, Zach LaVine, Keon Ellis, AJ Green and Grayson Allen.

Since 2020, the rules of the NBA Three-Point Contest have changed, adding two ultra-long three-point shooting points, each of which is worth 3 points. At the same time, the game time has been extended from 60 seconds to 70 seconds, and the total score has been increased from 34 points to 40 points. This adjustment has affected the rhythm of the game and also given players who are good at long-range shooting a greater advantage. As a recognized long-range shooting expert in the league, Lillard's ultra-long three-point ability may become a key weapon in his fight for three consecutive championships.

Last year's Skills Challenge champions were Myles Turner, Benedict Maturin and Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers, who won the championship at home in Indianapolis. This year, Green and Moody also have home-court advantage, and Green's versatility may give the Warriors a greater chance of winning.

According to the schedule of the All-Star Weekend, the Skills Challenge will be held first, followed by the Three-Point Contest and finally the Slam Dunk Contest. As the competition approaches, whether Lillard can successfully defend his title of Three-Point King and tie the record of the legendary star has become a major highlight of this All-Star.