Damian Lillard is out of the 3-Point Contest on Saturday night, but we still have eight of the world's best shooters in action.
Will Joe Harris defend his title? Will Trae Young win as the favorite? Can analytics darling Davis Bertans surprise the betting world?
Our experts give their favorite 3-Point Contest bets below.
Odds as of Friday and via PointsBet, where Action Network users can access an exclusive promotion to get a 200% deposit match (deposit $50, bet with $150).No strings attached. No rollover required.
Wob: Davis Bertans (+450)
grabs mic
inhales so audibly it is picked up over the PA system
FINALLY, Davis Bertans HAS COME BACK to the 3-point competition. This is the league's best catch-and-shoot player in the NBA, and it's BEEN THAT WAY FOR TWO YEARS.
God bless Joe Harris; he is fourth in the NBA in active career 3-point percentage, and he earned his trophy last year … BUT DAVIS BERTANS WAS NOT THERE. This is "The Rockets were back-to-back NBA Champions in 1994 and 1995 because Jordan went to play baseball" of the 3-point competition. Him being excluded from last year's field was unfathomably blasphemous, but he has finally made it and will exact his revenge on this field of mere mortals.
Y'all have to understand that Bertans is not only at the top of the league in catch-and-shoot plays, per Synergy Sports, but he LAUNCHES BOMBS that make Damian Lillard and Trae Young look like an appetizer. With the addition of the long distance rack to this year's event, you would figure that benefits Trae and other shooters (it does) … but they are not Bertans.
He is the best player from Latvia for a reason, and the reason why you don't hear more about him is because he played in San Antonio his whole career and now he's in Washington. I promise you if he was on a decent team or major city he would be in the A-block of national talk shows.
He has been so buckets that the Wizards were holding a TWO FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICK ransom over his head at the deadline. I cannot wait until this man goes nuclear and the mainstream audience thinking of only Trae and Devin Booker gets buried in the Bertans tidal wave. Grab a male and female of every species and get on board before it's too late.
[Bet now at PointsBet. NJ only.]
Moore: Buddy Hield (+550)
First I liked Duncan Robinson, then Devonte' Graham (who I still like). But now I'm on to Buddy Hield.
Couple of things here. He has the most consistent all-over shot chart, so he can hit from anywhere. He's a volume shooter: Last season he finished top-10 in made 3-pointers all-time. This season, Hield has seen a minutes decrease and is coming off the bench and yet is still third in made 3s.
So I'm going the volume-over-efficiency route and taking Hield. (Read my complete thoughts on the 3-Point Contest here.)
[Bet now at PointsBet. NJ only.]
Matt LaMarca: Devonte' Graham (+1000)
Are we all just going to ignore the most important thing in this contest?
Last year, Joe Harris won this competition as a darkhorse, but those of us at The Action Network knew all about Harris after his interview with Wob. The guy even made a 3-pointer blindfolded!
This year, Devonte' Graham got the honor to sit down with Wob. After he wins the competition this year at +1000, I would imagine that every sharpshooter in the league is going to be looking for a 1-on-1 interview. The Action Network bump is real!
[Bet now at PointsBet. NJ only.]
Brandon Anderson: Devin Booker (+500)
Booker was the late Damian Lillard replacement, and I’m certain his odds would be much lower if he'd been a contestant from the start (he opened at +700). It's not like you need to practice shooting 3s or something.
Jacking 25 threes in a minute? That's pretty much a normal minute of basketball for Booker. He can win this.
[Bet now at PointsBet. NJ only.]
Bryan Mears: Davis Bertans (+450)
I grabbed Bertans at +550 earlier this week, but I legitimately think he's going to win this, so he'll be my pick still at +450.
Put simply, I think he's the best stand-still shooter in the world. He's hitting 42.4% of his overall 3-point attempts this year, and that's on a Wizards team without much shooting and spacing. Further, as Matt mentioned in his big breakdown piece, the dude can absolutely nail from range, which is important this year with those extra green balls.
This event — all All-Star events, honestly — can be pretty random, but I'll take the best shooter, especially since he's not even the favorite.
