Damian Lillard defends his crown at the NBA 3-point contest during all-star weekend.
The narrative: Lillard is favoured to three-peat from 3-point land with a bunch of sharpshooters right behind. Buddy Hield — who won this event in 2020 — is next on the odds board but I'm looking toward Norman Powell as a value play.
Check out our NBA 3-point contest odds for the all-star event on Feb. 15.
NBA 3-point contest odds
Click on linked odds below to bet now. Note: Lines have changed/market no longer available if grey.
| Player | Odds to win | Odds to reach finals (1-3) |
| Damian Lillard | +300 | -121 |
| Buddy Hield | +400 | +100 |
| Tyler Herro | +500 | +110 |
| Darius Garland | +600 | +125 |
| Jalen Brunson | +700 | +150 |
| Cade Cunningham | +800 | +200 |
| Cameron Johnson | +800 | +200 |
| Norman Powell | +800 | +200 |
NBA odds as of 3:00 p.m. ET on 02/13/25.
Go to full NBA all-star weekend betting markets.
Lillard won each of the last two contests ... so is he a lock to do it again?
- Lillard secured 26/40 points in the final round of both victories.
- But Karl-Anthony Towns (29), Steph Curry (28) and Hield (27) all had better scores in the previous three seasons.
- Lillard is shooting 38.2% from deep this year, his best mark since the 2020-21 season.
Darius Garland (43.1%) has the highest 3-point percentage out of anyone in the field.
Best 3-point contest bet
Best bet: Powell to reach final (+200)
Powell is within spitting distance of Garland in 3-point efficiency (42.6%) while taking 7.8 threes a game.
He's been lights out all season for the Los Angeles Clippers and should probably be playing in the actual all-star game instead of just this competition.
With that said, I think the former Toronto Raptor will have some extra motivation to shoot the lights out on Saturday night.
Three of the eight players make the finals which gives us a 37.5% chance, assuming all things are equal. This bet carries a 33.33% implied probability so that's a nice start.
I'm also going to write a few players off.
- Cade Cunningham is shooting 35.1% from deep and is a career 33.6% three-point shooter.
- Hield is on the wrong side of 30 and has posted his worst 3-point rate (36.7%) in five years.
Powell is on the top of his game and is firing on all cylinders. Don't be surprised if he wins this thing.
