The 2019 iteration of the contest involved ten participants. From its introduction in 1986 to 2018, eight participants were selected to participate in each season's shootout. In 2002–2003 to 2012-2013 there were six participants. Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers is the most recent winner of the event, which was held at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Buddy Hield also tied Steph Curry’s record of 31 points in the 2025 edition of the three-point contest.
In this contest, participants attempt to make as many three-point field goals as possible from five positions behind the three-point line in one minute. Players begin shooting from one corner of the court, and move from station to station along the three-point arc until they reach the other corner.[2] At each shooting station is a rack with five basketballs. Out of the five balls, four are worth one point (the standard orange Wilson game balls) and the fifth one (a red/white/blue ABA-style ball; often nicknamed the "money ball")[3][4] is worth two points. The goal of this contest is to score as many points as possible within one minute. A perfect score used to be 30 points.[5][6] Since the 2014 contest, a rack consisting only of "money balls" has been added, and can be placed on any of the 5 spots of the player's choice, bringing up the maximum possible score to 34 points.[7] In the 2020 contest, two additional shots were placed on each side of the top of the key, worth three points each. This increased the maximum possible score to 40, and the time limit was increased from 60 to 70 seconds.[8]
In the qualifying round, each player has a chance to score as many points as possible. The three players with the top scores advance to the finals. The final round is played in the same way as the qualifying round, but players shoot according to the ascending order of their first-round scores. In each round, the shots and the score are confirmed by the referee and the television instant replay system.[4][9] The final round will be shot in reverse direction (left to right corner for a left-handed shooter and vice versa). In the case of a tie, multiple extra rounds of 30 seconds (1 minute in the final) are played to determine the winner.
Craig Hodges and Jason Kapono hold the record for most shots made in one round (21/25, .840 percentage), Craig Hodges also holds the records of most consecutive shots made (19), most appearances (8), and most points (25 out of a possible 30 points, .833 percentage)
Detlef Schrempf and Michael Jordan share the record for the fewest points scored in any round with five in 1988 and 1990, respectively.[10]
Kyrie Irving is the youngest player to win the contest at the age of 20.
Rimas Kurtinaitis is the only non-NBA player to participate in the contest.
Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics won in the first three years of the contest's history.Craig Hodges of the Chicago Bulls won in three consecutive years from 1990 to 1992.Two-time winner Jason Kapono recorded the highest percentage in the final round among winners at .833 in 2008.Damian Lillard became the third 3-time winner after winning three times in 2023, 2024, and 2026.
In 2021, Stephen Curry became the first player to score 31 points, tied for the most in the contest's history.In 2022, Karl-Anthony Towns became the first player to score 29 points in the final round; he is tied with Damian Lillard in 2026 for the most points scored in the final round in the contest's history.
Craig Hodges hit 21 shots in the second round in 1991. He was the sole record holder for most shots made in a non-final round for 20 years until he was joined by Stephen Curry in 2021 and then Devin Booker in 2026.In 2026, Damian Lillard hit 21 shots in the final round, the most in the contest's history.
Craig Hodges holds the record for most consecutive shots made in any round with 19 consecutive made shots in 1991.In 2015, Stephen Curry hit 13 consecutive shots in the final round, the most in the contest's history.
In 2005, Fred Hoiberg became the first player in NBA history to lead the league in three-point shooting percentage and not be invited to the three-point shooting competition.
In the 2024 three-point contest, fans expressed dissatisfaction with referees for permitting participants, notably Karl-Anthony Towns, to shoot while their feet were on the line.[16]
^CJ McCollum was named as a replacement to Chris Bosh due to the latter being unable to participate in the event with a calf injury (and later on, a blood clot in his leg).
^Mike Conley was named as a replacement to Devin Booker due to the latter being unable to participate in the event with a knee injury.
^Julius Randle was named as a replacement to Anfernee Simons due to the latter being unable to participate in the event with an ankle injury.
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