The news was out last week about Portland Trail Blazers sharpshooters Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons competing in the 2023 edition of the NBA three-point contest, set for Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Another set of teammates, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield, also previously had been announced as participants.
The complete field for the three-point contest was announced Tuesday, and rounding out the competition will be Tyler Herro (Miami Heat), Kevin Huerter (Sacramento Kings), Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz) and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics).
Lillard, named an All-Star for the seventh time this season, is in the three-point contest for the third time (2014, 2019), while Simons is making his first appearance.
The three-point contest is part of NBA All-Star Saturday Night, which begins at 5 p.m. PT Saturday (TV on TNT) and also includes the skills challenge and the slam dunk contest.
Hield leads the NBA in three-pointers made this season with 224, while Simons is second (195), Lillard is fourth (186), Taytum is seventh (177) and Markkanen is ninth (164). Lillard tops the participants in terms of threes made per game at 4.1, though five other entrants average at least three three-pointers per game: Hield (3.8), Simons (3.5), Tatum (3.3), Markkanen (3.0) and Herro (3.0).
Here’s a quick look at the three-point stats this season (through Monday) for each of the eight participants:
DAMIAN LILLARD
Three-pointers: 186 of 496 (37.5%); 4.1 per game
ANFERNEE SIMONS
Three-pointers: 195 of 512 (38.1%); 3.5 per game
TYRESE HALIBURTON
Three-pointers: 137 of 344 (39.8%); 2.9 per game
TYLER HERRO
Three-pointers: 135 of 366 (36.9%); 3.0 per game
BUDDY HIELD
Three-pointers: 224 of 530 (42.3%); 3.8 per game
KEVIN HUERTER
Three-pointers: 139 of 356 (39.0%); 2.6 per game
LAURI MARKKANEN
Three-pointers: 164 of 398 (41.2%); 3.0 per game
JAYSON TATUM
Three-pointers: 177 of 502 (35.3%); 3.3 per game
