NBA All-Star: Damian Lillard, out for season, wins 3-point contest for 3rd time
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- Portland Trailblazers guard Damian Lillard holds the winner’s trophy after the 3-point contest at NBA All-Star weekend on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif.
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- Portland Trailblazers guard Damian Lillard shoots during the 3-point contest at NBA All-Star weekend on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif.
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- Portland Trailblazers guard Damian Lillard gestures after winning the 3-point contest at NBA All-Star weekend on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Damian Lillard isn’t playing this season. He still scored big anyway, winning the 3-point contest at NBA All-Star Saturday over Devin Booker.
Lillard tied Larry Bird and Craig Hodges with his third title, most in the contest’s history. Defending champion Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat didn’t compete.
Lillard scored 30 points in the final round, edging Booker, who got hot early but tailed off and finished with 27. Booker of the Phoenix Suns was the champion in 2018.
“I was praying for his downfall,” Lillard said.
Charlotte Hornets standout rookie Kon Knueppel finished third with 17 points, wrinkling his nose at the result.
Lillard, a Weber State legend, won his first title in 2023 while playing for the Portland Trail Blazers. He won it again the following year with Milwaukee. He’s not playing for the Blazers while rehabbing from a torn left Achilles tendon. Still, he told the NBA he’d suit up for the contest if he needed.
“That’s all I do it for, keep adding to my legacy,” he said.
Booker was the top scorer after the first round with 30 points. Knueppel and Lillard were tied for second with 27.
Lillard fired away in the final, with the The Wall section of fans at the Los Angeles Clippers’ Intuit Dome holding up red umbrellas in a sign he was making it rain.
“You just got to let the ball fly, trust your instincts as a shooter, and you can’t get ruffled when someone else gets hot,” Lillard said.
Eliminated after the first round were Donovan Mitchell, Tyrese Maxey, Norman Powell, Jamal Murray and Bobby Portis Jr.
DUNK CONTEST
Keshad Johnson of the Miami Heat won the Slam Dunk contest, overcoming perfect scores by San Antonio rookie Carter Bryant on his first dunk in the final round.
For his final dunk, Johnson started behind the judges’ table, took off from the free-throw line and threw down a one-handed windmill jam. His first dunk earned a slightly higher score for a between-the-legs move.
Bryant earned the contest’s highest score for his first dunk in the final. He bounced the ball in front of him, caught it between his legs and dunked with his right hand, earning perfect 50 marks from all five judges.
But Bryant struggled on his second dunk.
Giving the NBA a new slam dunk champion, Johnson accepted the trophy from Hall of Famer Julius Erving after shaking hands with all of the judges.
Three-time dunk winner Mac McClung — currently on a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls — didn’t participate.
It was a four-man field for the fifth consecutive year, with Jaxson Hayes of the Lakers and Jase Richardson of Orlando joining Johnson and Bryant.
Judging the contest were Erving, fellow Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, Dwight Howard, Corey Maggette and Brent Barry.
