NBA All-Star Weekend: No Larry Bird? Wide Open Race For Three-Point King Title

One of the watched events in the annual NBA All-Star weekend is the three-point shootout. It brings together the best shooters in the league for the season and there are big names who could be crowned the 2022 three-point king.

For this year, the list of participants includes Desmond Bane of the Memphis Grizzlies, Luke Kennard of the Los Angeles Clippers, Zach Lavine of the Chicago Bulls, CJ McCollum of the New Orleans Pelicans, Patty Mills of the Brooklyn Nets, Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.

The assembly of the elite shooters will make it hard to figure out who really has the edge above the rest. But in the eyes of former NBA player and current The Basketball League president David Magley, it all boils down to who can get into a rhythm first and catch fire.

Magley shared his thoughts on the three-point contest when he appeared on the Sports Bytes PH podcast last Feb. 13.

“They catch fire, they are all capable of winning. But you know, I think Patty Mills knows the same way. I think if he catches fire, it’s just a matter of that first rack. If you get a few of the perspectives,” Magley explained.

He also added that in his opinion, there is only one player who would be a favorite even before a three-point shootout takes place. He is no other than former Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird.

“I think there’s Larry Bird and then there is everyone else. Everyone else is rhythm. Everyone else is ‘if I’m in my rhythm and I catch fire. I can roll through these rounds and be there.' And then there’s Larry. Larry’s just like in a different world all the time," he pointed out.

"So his mindset is so much confidence that is different than everybody else. But I don’t care if it was Craig Hodges or Mark Price or Ray Allen or any of these guys that shoot."

Bird reigned supreme in the three-point contest, winning the event from 1986 to 1988. One Craig Hodges of the Chicago Bulls holds the distinction of being the only other player to win the event for three consecutive years (1990 to 1992).