2026 NBA All-Star Weekend 3-Point Competition Preview and Prediction
Ever since trash-talking extraordinaire Larry Bird won three straight competitions between 1986 and 1988, the 3-point contest has been a staple during the NBA’s annual All-Star weekend festivities. This is the 40th iteration of the contest and, with last year’s champion, Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat, not participating, eight competitors will have a chance to take home the 2026 crown.
The contest takes place Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, home of the Los Angeles Clippers. This year’s lineup includes superstars, past champions, and youngsters looking to make their names well-known.
And one competitor, two-time former champion Damian Lillard, will make a cameo appearance while sitting out the entire 2025/26 campaign to recover from a torn Achilles suffered in April of 2025.
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2026 NBA All-Star Weekend 3-Point Competition Odds and Betting Trends
The competition favourite is Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel. The former Duke Blue Devils standout has impressed in his NBA debut, averaging 18.9 points while sitting 12th in the league in 3-point shooting at 42.9 per cent on eight attempts per game.
Knueppel is seventh in the league, making 3.4 shots from beyond the arc per game, and he is currently installed at +275, well ahead of Lillard, the 2023 and 2024 champion, who has the second-best odds at +400.
Phoenix’s Devin Booker, the 2018 champion, is third at +550. Bobby Portis, the veteran Milwaukee Bucks centre who is sixth in the league in 3-point shooting percentage at 45.6 per cent on 4.2 attempts per game, is considered the long shot coming in at +1800.
Tyrese Maxey (+600)
The emerging Philadelphia 76ers superstar is eighth in the league in scoring (28.8 PPG) and will make his first-time All-Star Game appearance as a starter this weekend. Maxey is ninth in the league with a 37.9 per cent shooting from 3-point land, tallying 8.8 attempts per game and leading a Sixers team that is sixth in the East despite the annual ‘Will he or won’t he play?’ drama tied to teammate Joel Embiid.
Donovan Mitchell (+800)
Mitchell is making his seventh All-Star Game appearance this weekend, and his third in this competition. He has not won, but this might be the year the Cavaliers stud breaks through. The guard is fifth in the league with 29 points per game, and he is making a career-high 3.6 3-pointers per game while leading the Cavaliers to fourth in the East, seven games behind the Pistons.
2026 NBA All-Star Weekend 3-Point Competition: Who Will Win?
It’s intriguing to consider either of the two favourites. Knueppel would be the first-ever rookie to win the contest. As for Lillard, he would join Bird and Craig Hodges as the competition’s only three-time winners.
More importantly, the nine-time All-Star, who returned to the Trail Blazers after two seasons in Milwaukee, would give Portland fans hope their grizzled leader can return next year and lead a young bunch with a standout showing Saturday afternoon.
However, I’m hitching my wagon to Denver’s Jamal Murray (+650), who is already on Cloud 9 after earning his first All-Star selection. How the spectacular guard has not made the classic before now is beyond me. He’s shooting 42.5 per cent from beyond the arc while making 3.2 of 7.4 attempts per game, both career-highs.
The veteran is averaging 25.4 points per game and fortified the Nuggets while three-time MVP Nikola Jokic missed extended time earlier in the season.