All-Star Weekend: Damian Lillard's 3-Point Contest & More Reactions
All-Star Weekend: Damian Lillard’s Historic 3-Point Contest, Slam Dunk Contest Blunders & More Reactions
Day two of 2026 NBA All-Star weekend festivities, and the changes were overwhelmingly obvious from the get-go. The primetime hype was eliminated with the broadcast beginning bright and early at 5 p.m. EST.
3-Point Contest
It tipped off with the 3-Point Contest, which might have been the most rewarding event of the night.
Contestants included Devin Booker, Kon Knueppel, Tyrese Maxey, Norman Powell, Jamal Murray, and Donovan Mitchell. But in the end, it was Dame time as Damian Lillard was able to edge out Knueppel and Booker in the final round to make history as the third player to win the event three times.
Even more impressive than the three-peat is that Lillard’s not even an active NBA player, since he’s still recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered in the 2025 playoffs. Still, it’s nice to see him back in a Blazers jersey after his uneventful stint in Milwaukee.
“I just know I’m ready. I’m coming back from an injury, which was almost a year ago now,” Lillard said afterwards. “Since that day, I’ve been rehabbing, I’ve been training, I’ve been on the court for months now. I feel great. I’ve been doing a lot of shooting, and if there’s anything I can do great right now, it’s to shoot the ball.”
Shooting Stars Competition
Next up would normally be the skills challenge, but thanks to Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul scheming to win last year, the Shooting Stars competition returned for the first time since 2015.
Just as it used to be, there were four teams, each comprising two NBA players and one OG. Only now, there was no longer a mandatory WNBA player to round out the squad. Each team shoots from different spots on the court, and whoever ends with the most points wins.
Team Knicks, composed of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Allan Houston, ended up winning with 47 points, but the coolest moment went to Team Harper.
Led by father and five-time NBA champ Ron Harper, he teamed up with his sons Dylan Harper from the San Antonio Spurs and Boston’s Ron Harper Jr.
Slam Dunk Contest
The final and arguably the most anticipated part of the weekend, the Slam Dunk Contest, was up next. We can talk ad nauseam about big stars not wanting to compete like in eras past, but even Mac McClung wasn’t around this year.
This year’s competitors were Jaxson Hayes, Carter Bryant, Keshad Johnson, and Jase Richardson. Johnson, a Bay Area native, kept the energy up throughout the competition and his running windmill ended up winning, despite Carter Bryant earning the only 50-point score of the night for his between-the-legs dunk.
Also, did you catch that scary slip-and-fall by Richardson? Ouch.
Kudos to Johnson, though, who told the NBC crew featuring Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady, and Vince Carter that he had only five days’ notice and two days of practice before the big night. Plus, he was fresh off getting banged up in a back-to-back in the G-League.
See social media’s reaction to All-Star Saturday below.
All-Star Weekend: Damian Lillard’s Historic 3-Point Contest, Slam Dunk Contest Blunders & More Reactions was originally published on cassiuslife.com
