A year ago, Stephen Curry set the nets on fire in New York while taking home the Three-Point Contest title. The reigning MVP will attempt to one-up himself this year in Toronto, as the NBA’s All-Star Twitter account announced Thursday that the Golden State Warriors star is one of eight participants for this year’s contest:
The 2016 #FootLockerThree Field at #NBAAllStarTO! pic.twitter.com/vExheAnTg2
— 2016 NBA All-Star (@NBAAllStar) February 5, 2016
Curry will be joined by teammate Klay Thompson, Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh, Milwaukee Bucks guard Khris Middleton, Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, Los Angeles Clippers guard J.J. Redick and Houston Rockets guard James Harden.
Based on the field, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports is ready to switch the order of Saturday night events:
Now is probably the right time to make the 3-point contest the final event over dunk contest on All-Star Saturday. https://t.co/lSM0IlLegV
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) February 5, 2016
There are five All-Stars (Curry, Thompson, Bosh, Harden and Lowry) in the competition. Curry, Thompson, Redick and Harden will be making return appearances from last year’s contest, which featured one of the best all-time performances from the reigning MVP. Going up against Thompson and Kyrie Irving, Curry set a contest record with 27 points on his way to a blowout win. (Note: Curry’s record was set under the new 34-point format rather than the 30-point format of previous years.)
“I’ve done it three straight years and finally won one,” Curry said of potentially competing, per Fox Sports’ Brett Pollakoff. “Knowing I’ll be there already, I’ll probably suit up Saturday night and see if I can defend it. It’s a gym I’ve gotten a lot of shots up in growing up, with my dad playing up there for three years. So, it’ll be a pretty special spot to lace ’em up and shoot some threes.”
Of course, Curry has arguably established himself as the best shooter in NBA history seven years into his NBA career. He’s already broken the single-season record for three pointers twice and is on pace to shatter his own mark this season. Through 47 games, Curry has knocked down 232 threes, which is 1.4 more per game than during his record-setting 2014-15 campaign.
His biggest competition may wind up being Thompson, himself on pace to have one of the highest three-point totals in league history. Despite a struggle-filled first month, Thompson has come back with a vengeance, including a December run in which he averaged a Curry-esque 4.3 threes per game.
Harden and Redick were eliminated after posting the two lowest scores in last year’s competition. Both will be looking for redemption, but Redick will be especially eager to right his reputation. The Clippers star struggled last year, in part because he continually stepped over the three-point line, setting a record for long twos in the process.
The remaining four players will all be competing in their first contest. Bosh is attempting to become the first power forward in a decade to win the three-point shootout (Dirk Nowitzki 2005-06) and the third overall (Nowitzki, Larry Bird). His move beyond the arc will take the place of Bosh’s typical Shooting Stars Challenge appearance, which has been removed from All-Star Weekend.
Perhaps the most interesting entrant is Booker, who will be competing, despite not being chosen for the Rising Stars Challenge. The rookie guard could have used the weekend for relaxation, but will instead be taking the trip to Toronto. That should, at the very least, make Suns fans feel good about his work ethic.
