Devin Booker
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Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns is a one-time NBA 3-point contest winner.
For the fifth time in his career, Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns participated in the 3-point contest at the NBA All-Star Weekend. Booker came up short in the final against Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, who took home his third 3-point contest win.
Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel started the competition hot and put on the pressure by scoring 27 points in the first round. Donovan Mitchell followed with 24 points, while Jamal Murray was eliminated after scoring just 18 points.
Norman Powell of the Miami Heat dropped 23 points, with Bobby Portis scoring a contest-low 15 points. Tyrese Maxey only put up 17 points and was eliminated. Booker came in next and scored 30 points to eliminate Powell from the competition.
Lillard was the final man in the first round and needed at least 27 points to advance. He came up clutch and got hot toward the end, scoring exactly 27 points to push Mitchell out.
In the final round, Knueppel only had 17 points, which was an easy score to beat. Lillard had 29 points, putting a lot of pressure on Booker, who was the final shooter of the night. The Suns guard had three shots to tie the score and even win, but he missed all three to finish with just 27 points.
With his win, Lillard becomes the third player in NBA history to lift the 3-point contest trophy three times, joining Larry Bird and Craig Hodges.
Booker on Coming Up Short
In his fifth try, Devin Booker came very close to winning his second 3-point contest. He was in his first shootout since 2020, when he lost to Buddy Hield in the final. Booker won the award in 2018.
Speaking to reporters after the event, Booker revealed that he forgot how much he needed to score to beat Damian Lillard. He added that he’s going to think about the loss for a bit, but he showed a lot of respect for Lillard, who is still recovering from a torn Achilles tendon and hasn’t played this season.
“It’s a great feat for him,” Booker said, via The Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin. “Dame is somebody I have a lot of respect for. It’s his third time winning it. Somebody I was teammates with in the Olympics. Going into it, I thought it was going to be (Kon Knueppel) or Dame or me, and it ended up being the final round. Some good shooting going on.”
Booker also doesn’t have any problems with Lillard’s participation despite some protests among fans on social media.
Lillard Had Jokes After His Win
In his post-contest interview with NBC’s Zora Stephenson, Damian Lillard jokingly said that he “prayed” for Devin Booker to miss his final three shots.
“I was praying on his downfall,” Lillard said. “I mean, I knew coming in I could see it being me, Kon and Book in the end. Knew it would be stiff competition. He was in position, just took more shots to rattle out, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”
Lillard would later add that he’s hoping to enter next year’s 3-point contest to possibly break the three-way tie between himself, Larry Bird and Craig Hodges.