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The 5 best performances ever of the All Star Game Three-Point Contest

31 editions and 24 different winners, among which also an Italian player

The 5 best performances ever of the All Star Game Three-Point Contest 31 editions and 24 different winners, among which also an Italian player
A basket, a ball, a timer and the fundamental which the game of basketball is based on: the shoot.

This is the Three Point Challenge and it would also seem easy if it were not that to win you have to throw it in from 17 to 25 times. You have to be snipers. It is the event that together with the Slam Dunk Contest and Skill Challenge completes the program of the All Star Saturday NBA. For 25 times within a minute of time, a player must do baskets as many times as possible by throwing from 5 carts of 5 balls each (the last ball of each cart, called moneyball, is worth double). 

In 31 years of competition there have been 24 different winners and in an ocean of Americans emerge a Slavic, Peja Stojakovic, a German, Dirk Nowitzki and our Marco Belinelli, champion as outsider in 2014. Probably the American fans will have already forgotten it , but for a whole year the best shooter in the world was the big boy from San Giovanni in Persiceto, Italian pride and certainly, at least for that day, European.

In a league where all-around-players are increasingly preferred, where shooting guards come out like mushrooms but also where the real dominant centers are slowly disappearing, the 3 point shot is taking more and more importance. In a nutshell, shooting from out of the area, and above all doing it well, has become a trend today, and is the reason for the aspiration of new players who grow up in a constantly conditioned environment by people like Curry, Thompson & co.

If it is good or bad, it is not for us to say it, now there is a talk about moving the 3-point line further away or raising the basket to increase the game's coefficient of difficulty.

Before this could happened, we make a summary of the best performance of the 3 Point Challenge

 

#5 Larry Bird, Dallas 1986, Seattle 1987 e Chicago 1988

In the first year of participation, Larry Legend at the entrance of the locker room said: "I want everyone to know that I will win. I'm just looking around to see who will finish second''. After making a "miserable" 16 in the first round against a 25 by Hodges, Larry will arrive cooler in the final where he will shoot a nice 22 to win.

In 1988, in Chicago, he reached the final against historic opponent Dale Ellis. After a gruesome start (7 points in the first 3 carts) Larry changes gear by scoring the entire fourth cart and reaching the tie before the last pitch. As soon as the shot comes out of his hands, The Legend walks towards the center of the court with his index finger raised as a sign of victory. Basket.

For Bird it is the third consecutive title that will automatically take him to the Olympus of basketball world.

 

#4 Kyrie Irving, Houston 2013

An almost dream weekend for the current Nets playmaker, at that time Lebron's teammate at the Cavs. During the Rookie Challenge on Friday he is the best of his (32 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds) and he loses the MVP title only because of the defeat of his team. That year Irving will also be selected for Sunday's All Star Game where, despite a highly respectable performance, he is targeted by Chris Paul who will win the game and title of MVP of the competition.

The only real satisfaction will be obtained on Saturday by defeating Matt Bonner in the final, scoring 17 of the first 18 throws and closing at one moneyball with an absolute record.

 

#3 'Splash Brothers' (Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson) - New York 2015 e Toronto 2016

Within two years, the "Splash Brothers" confirmed (if there was a need) to be the best shooting couple in the world.

In 2015 Steph improves the record of the number of baskets scored in a 3 point contest scoring 27 points (which practically means to miss 3 shots out of 25). The following year his slightly stimulated teammate Klay decided to further raise the bar by scoring 28 in the final. Against Steph.

 

#2 Devin Booker, Los Angeles 2018

Another race to the limits of the human. Thompson, Tobias Harris and Devin Booker make it to the final with easiness. Shameful and listless Paul George stops at 9. The final is unbelievable with Thompson and Booker verging on perfection, it will win Melvin's son by repeating the previous year's record by his challenger finalist Klay.

 

#1 Marco Belinelli, New Orleans 2014

It is the first year of the new format, 4 eastern conference players will compete against 4 western players; the best of each conference goes to the final. He was in the race with Curry, Damian Lillard, Kevin Love, Beal, Kyrie and Joe Johnson. The super favorite Curry stops at 16, Beli with 19 goes to the final where he will find Beal. Roll the first, roll the second, 19 baskets both, extra time(if you can call it that).

The 8 out of 10 final round  will allow Belinelli to finish with a splendid 24, too much for Beal who closes with 18. And a wonderful $ 50K jackpot.