NEW YORK — Defending champion Eric Gordon of the Houston Rockets and 2016 winner Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors will showcase their shooting skills in the 2018 JBL Three-Point Contest on Saturday, Feb. 17 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Thompson is one of four 2018 NBA All-Stars in the competition, along with the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Paul George and the Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry. The eight-player field also features the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker, the Miami Heat’s Wayne Ellington and the LA Clippers’ Tobias Harris.
The 32nd JBL Three-Point Contest is part of State Farm® All-Star Saturday Night, which will air on TNT and ESPN Radio at 8 p.m. ET. All-Star Saturday Night also includes the Taco Bell Skills Challenge and Verizon Slam Dunk.
In addition to the star-studded competitions, Daytime Emmy® Award winner and Extra host Mario Lopez will welcome fans and introduce the night, while Grammy® Award nominee Andra Day and Academy® Award winner Common will perform a special rendition of the 2018 Academy Award-nominated song “Stand Up for Something” from the movie Marshall. Part of the NBA Voices platform and in celebration of Black History Month, the performance will feature current and former NBA and WNBA players and incorporate words chosen by a handful of players that reflect black history and culture, and their collective commitment to equality and diversity.
2018 JBL Three-Point Contest Participants
- Bradley Beal, Wizards: A first-time All-Star in his sixth season, Beal is 14th in the NBA in three-pointers made (123) after finishing seventh in that category last season (223). He also ranks 14th in scoring average with a career-high 23.8 points per game.
- Devin Booker, Suns: Booker reached the final round of the 2016 JBL Three-Point Contest as a rookie. This season, the NBA’s 12th-leading scorer (24.4 ppg) is making 2.6 three-pointers per game and shooting 38.3 percent from beyond the arc, both the best of his three-year career.
- Wayne Ellington, Heat: In his ninth season, Ellington ranks fourth in the NBA in three-pointers made with a career-high 153. He is averaging a career-high 11.2 points.
- Paul George, Thunder: The five-time All-Star (21.3 ppg) is shooting a career-high 42.3 percent from three-point range and ranks fifth in the NBA in three-pointers made with 150. George connected on a record nine three-pointers and scored 41 points in the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.
- Eric Gordon, Rockets: Gordon won the 2017 JBL Three-Point Contest in his competition debut, edging Kyrie Irving in a tiebreaker after they posted the same score in the final round. The 2016-17 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award winner, Gordon has made the sixth-most three-pointers in the NBA this season (146) while averaging 19.1 points.
- Tobias Harris, Clippers: The seven-year veteran has already surpassed his career high for three-pointers in a season, sinking 113 at a career-high 40.9 percent clip. Harris, who was acquired by the Clippers in a trade with the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 29, is averaging a career-high 18.1 points.
- Kyle Lowry, Raptors: Lowry is set for his fourth straight NBA All-Star Game and third consecutive appearance in the Three-Point Contest. In addition to having the eighth-most three-pointers in the NBA (133), Lowry is one of four players averaging at least 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists (LeBron James, Ben Simmons and Russell Westbrook).
- Klay Thompson, Warriors: The 2016 Three-Point Contest champion will appear in this event and the NBA All-Star Game for the fourth consecutive year. Thompson (20.3 ppg) leads the NBA in three-point field goal percentage (45.4) and ranks second in threes made (164).
JBL Three-Point Contest Rules
The JBL Three-Point Contest is a two-round, timed competition. Five shooting locations are positioned around the three-point arc. Four racks contain four NBA regulation balls (each worth one point) and one multicolored “money” ball (worth two points). The fifth rack is a special “all money ball” rack, which each participant can place at any of the five locations. Every ball on this rack is worth two points.
The players have one minute to shoot as many of the 25 balls as they can. The three competitors with the highest scores in the first round advance to the championship round. Click here for a complete explanation of the rules.
For the complete list of previous winners, click here.
