Three-Point Contest

The contest typically features eight participants who shoot from five racks of five balls each, with four regular balls worth one point and one 'money ball' worth two points. In 2014, the NBA introduced a 'rack of all money balls' placed at a chosen distance, and in 2020 a 'mountain of balls' (two deep) was added at the left wing. Players have 60 seconds to complete each round; the top two or three scorers advance to a final round. Ties are broken by a 30-second shootout, as seen in 2018 when Devin Booker defeated Klay Thompson.

Larry Bird won the first three contests (1986–1988), famously asking before the 1988 final, 'Which one of you is going to finish second?' Craig Hodges won three consecutive titles from 1990 to 1992, and his 1991 final-round score of 21 stood as a record until 2014. Stephen Curry's 2021 final-round 28 points and his 2022 win (after losing in 2015 and 2016) highlight the modern era. Other multiple winners include Mark Price, Jeff Hornacek, Peja Stojaković, and Jason Kapono. The contest has been held every year since 1986 except 1999, when the lockout canceled All-Star Weekend.

Stephen Curry holds the record for the highest score in a single round with 31 points in the 2021 first round. The 2015 contest saw Curry and teammate Klay Thompson engage in a 'Splash Brothers' rivalry, with Curry winning. In 2018, Devin Booker set a then-record 28 points in the final round. The 2020 contest introduced a 'logo shot' worth three points, and in 2021 the NBA added a 'special rack' of two deep balls. The contest has also seen celebrity participants, such as Michael Jordan in 1990, who scored a then-record 17 in the first round but lost to Hodges.

The contest was inspired by the ABA's Three-Point Shootout, which ran from 1977 to 1979. The NBA's version was the brainchild of then-All-Star Game coordinator, who sought to add a skills event. The 2002 contest featured a 'double-pump' rule allowing players to shoot from a closer line for two points, but it was scrapped. In 2014, the NBA introduced a 'rack of all money balls' placed at a chosen distance, and in 2020 a 'mountain of balls' (two deep) was added at the left wing. The contest has been won by players from the Dallas Mavericks (Dirk Nowitzki, 2006) and the Golden State Warriors (Curry, 2015, 2021, 2022; Thompson, 2016). The 2021 contest was held during the pandemic with a reduced format, and the 2022 contest featured a '3-point shootout' between Curry and Sabrina Ionescu, a WNBA star, which was not part of the official contest.

Money ball

A ball worth two points in the Three-Point Contest, typically the last ball in each rack.

Rack

A set of five balls placed at a designated spot around the three-point arc.

Mountain of balls

A special rack introduced in 2020 with two deep balls, allowing a player to shoot from a greater distance for extra points.