The National Basketball Association announced Thursday that Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry will participate in the JBL Three-Point Contest as part of State Farm All-Star Saturday Night. He joins Jason Kapono (2008 & 2009) as the only players in team history to participate in the contest twice. Lowry also competed in the event last year during NBA All-Star Weekend in Toronto.
Lowry leads all Eastern Conference players with 162 three-pointers made and is shooting a career-best .427 (162-for-379) from beyond the arc. He became the first player in franchise history to shoot a perfect 6-for- 6 from three-point range in a game November 28 versus Philadelphia and set a team-record with 59 three- pointers during the month of December. Lowry became the fourth player in NBA history to complete a month with 55-or-more three-pointers and a shooting percentage above .500, joining Stephen Curry (February 2016 and March 2015), Kyle Korver (January 2015) and Ray Allen (January 2002). He is four three-pointers away from tying Morris Peterson’s franchise-record of 801 career three-pointers with Toronto.
Lowry, a native of Philadelphia, will make his third consecutive appearance in the NBA All-Star Game. He was selected by the coaches as a reserve for the Eastern Conference squad and will join teammate DeMar DeRozan in New Orleans. Lowry is averaging a career-best 23.3 points through 49 games.
All-Star Saturday Night will be held February 18 at Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans and can be seen on TSN 1/4 in Canada beginning at 8 p.m. The 66th NBA All-Star Game will be held Sunday, February 19 and will be shown on Sportsnet in Canada beginning at 8:30 p.m.