2025 NBA 3-Point Contest Predictions, Picks, Odds & Rules: Back Brunson

NBA All-Star weekend is here and one of the biggest events is tonight's Starry 3-point contest at the Chase Center.

Although Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard is gunning for a three-peat in this year's 3-point contest, I'm backing a dark horse to pull off an upset.

I break down the NBA All-Star odds and bring you my best NBA picks for the 3-point contest on Saturday, February 15.

NBA 3-Point Contest odds

Player	Team	3P%
Damian Lillard	Milwaukee Bucks	38.2%	+300
Buddy Hield	Golden State Warriors	36.3%	+490
Darius Garland	Cleveland Cavaliers	43.1%	+500
Norman Powell	Los Angeles Clippers	42.8%	+550
Cam Johnson	Brooklyn Nets	41.3%	+700
Tyler Herro	Miami Heat	38.0%	+700
Jalen Brunson	New York Knicks	39.7%	+950
Cade Cunningham	Detroit Pistons	35.1%	+1200

NBA 3-Point Contest rules

The 3-Point Contest has gotten increasingly complicated over the years with new modifications added almost annually. Familiarize yourself with the latest rules before wagering on the event.

• Players are given 70 seconds to shoot 27 balls from five racks located around the arc.
  
  
• Four of the five racks contain four NBA game balls and one tri-colored "moneyball." The fifth rack contains five tri-colored moneyballs. Players choose in advance where they would like to have the moneyball rack positioned.
  
  
• Regular game balls are worth one point and moneyballs are worth two points.
  
  
• There are two additional "Starry Range" ball pedestals, one between racks 2 and 3, and the other between racks 3 and 4. These shots are 29 feet and 9 inches from the basket (six feet behind the arc) and are worth three points each.
  
  
• The order of the competition is determined by a random draw, except for the previous year's winner, who automatically goes at the end of the opening round.
  
  
• The three players with the highest scores in the opening round will advance to the championship round. If there is a tie to determine the championship round participants, a 30-second tie-breaker round will take place between the tied players.
  
  
• The order for the Final Round will be the inverse of the opening round scores (i.e. the player with the lowest score shoots first). If a tie occurs in the final round, a full 70-second tiebreaker round will be used to determine the champion.

NBA 3-Point Contest favorites

Damian Lillard (+300)

Damian Lillard has won this contest in each of the past two years and this will be his fifth year competing. Not only is the Milwaukee Bucks point guard a sharpshooter with deep range and loads of experience in this event, but he's also consistent. 

In fact, he finished with exactly 26 points in all four rounds over the last two years. 

Buddy Hield (+490)

Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield is also a previous winner of this competition after taking home the award in 2020. He also took part in the 3-point contest in 2019 and 2023 and made it to the Final Round in each of those years as well.

That said, it's worth pointing out that Hield has a modest 36.3 3PT% this season — the second-lowest of anybody in the competition. That number has dipped to just 31.9% at home, so the Warriors veteran might not benefit from home-court advantage at the Chase Center.

Darius Garland (+500)

This is Darius Garland's first year participating in the event, but the Cleveland Cavaliers star boasts the highest three-point percentage (43.1%) of any participant this year.

Garland drained a game-winning shot from the logo against the Pistons last week, showing the range needed to make those "Starry ball" shots.

NBA 3-Point Contest pick

With Lillard's experience and recent history as a back-to-back champion, it's easy to see why he's the favorite. That said, There's a lot of volatility when it comes to 3-point shooting, and several other players provide better value. 

One of those players is New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, who took part in this contest last year and had a disappointing sixth-place result with 24 points. Brunson has made no secret of the fact that he's motivated to do much better this year, and I think the previous experience will prove invaluable.

Brunson is a dead-eye shooter with the kind of quick and efficient release that lends itself to this competition. He's also the type of scorer that makes tough shots when the lights are at their brightest.

Don't forget that the majority of shots in this contest come from above the break or on deep threes. Brunson shoots 40% from above the break, including a sizzling 42.5% on deep threes. 

I'm taking the Knicks superstar to etch his name into All-Star Weekend history on Saturday. 

Best bet: Jalen Brunson 3-Point Contest Winner (+950 at FanDuel)

Past 3-Point Contest Winners

Year	Player
2024	Damian Lillard
2023	Damian Lillard
2022	Karl-Anthony Towns
2021	Steph Curry
2020	Buddy Hield
2019	Joe Harris
2018	Devin Booker
2017	Eric Gordon
2016	Klay Thompson
2015	Steph Curry

Players who have won multiple 3-Point Contests

Larry Bird added to his legacy by winning the first three 3-Point Contests from 1986 to 1988 before retiring from the event with nothing left to prove.

A master of the mental arts, the "Hick from French Lick" famously psyched out his opponents in his final 3-point shootout by walking into the locker room and casually asking, "Who's coming in second?" 

The answer, as it turns out, was Seattle's Dale Ellis, who could only watch in awe as Bird cooly eliminated him in the final round while still wearing his warmup jacket.

3-Point Contest trends

• Dirk Nowitzki (2006) and Karl-Anthony Towns (2022) are the only 7-footers to win the contest.
  
  
• No one had won the contest in back-to-back years since 2008, until Damian Lillard accomplished the feat in 2023-24.
  
  
• No one has won the contest on their own home court.

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