The greatest three-point contest in history? Lillard privately challenges Curry: aiming to defeat top rivals for a fourth title

On February 17th Beijing time, Damian Lillard, who just won the Three-Point Contest at the All-Star Weekend, has begun assembling top shooters for next year’s competition.

This Trail Blazers guard, currently recuperating from an Achilles tendon rupture, nevertheless secured the three-point contest victory. He tallied 29 points in the final round, narrowly defeating Booker and earning his third three-point championship within four years.

Since the inception of the Three-Point Contest in 1986, no player has ever won four titles. Now, Lillard is targeting history next year, hoping to compete alongside the strongest opponents.

Lillard shared a screenshot of an Instagram direct message conversation, with the details as follows—

Lillard:Next year… me, you, Klay, Booker, plus four other true elite shooters…

Curry replied:No problem, I’m in. I know that if I say the word, Klay will join. Plus, Booker will be playing on home turf next year, which makes it a perfect setup.

Curry (2015, 2021), Klay (2016), and Booker (2018) are all former Three-Point Contest champions. In 2019, Lillard, Curry, and Booker competed together, with Joe Harris ultimately winning the title.

This was Booker’s fifth appearance in the contest. He scored 30 points in the first round, the highest overall, but narrowly lost to Lillard by one point in the final. Booker started the final round on fire, even causing Lillard to “secretly pray.”

“I was really praying he would miss… he had a strong momentum, just a few shots rattled out. Sometimes that’s how the game goes,” Lillard said.

Klay and Curry faced off directly in the 2016 final, with Klay beating his teammate by 4 points. Klay hasn’t competed in the Three-Point Contest since 2018, and Curry’s last participation was in 2021. However, Curry has announced in interviews that he will return to the Phoenix event next year.

“I’m 100% coming, it’s already planned. We’ll put together a great group,” Curry said. “Me, Lillard, and I’ll do my best to bring Klay along.”

The strongest three-point contest ever? The recruitment battle for next year’s All-Star event has officially begun.