The NBA All-Star weekend is adorned with several skill contests that showcase the prowess of the star players in the league. Through all these years of the All-Star weekend each season, the Slam Dunk contest and the Three-Point contest have remained a staple to the league’s festive weekend for the longest time. Notably, there has been no player in the history of these competitions to have won both these titles. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant have Slam Dunk titles, while Larry Bird and Stephen Curry have won multiple 3-Point contest titles.
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Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers might be one of the players aiming to be the first to win both titles in the 2024 All-Star weekend. Mitchell was crowned the 2018 Slam Dunk contest’s champion and participates in the Three-Point Contest in this year’s iteration. Previously, Mitchell had attempted to achieve this feat in 2021 but failed to do so. Perhaps this year might be the one for the Cavs guard to shine and achieve a rare feat in the history of the NBA.
Interestingly, All-Stars Kenny Smith and Damian Lillard are among the few players in the league’s history to participate in both competitions in the same year. Smith participated in 1993, while Lillard marked this rare feat in 2014. However, both couldn’t capitalize on winning the competitions and missed out on achieving a rare feat that could have etched their names in the annals of NBA’s All-Star weekend’s history.
Nevertheless, a lot comes down to Donovan Mitchell, vying to win the Three-Point title contest this year. Mitchell has a career percentage of 36.5% from shooting beyond the arc and has recorded 36.1% from the three-point line this season. Though these numbers highly reflect the prowess of the player, it comes down to the intensity of the competition on the game night, which features other solid contenders such as Damian Lillard, Tyrese Haliburton, Trae Young, and Karl-Anthony Towns for this season’s iteration.
Players participated in both Slam Dunk and Three-Point Contest
There are 14 players in the history of the All-Star weekend to have participated in both the Slam Dunk and the Three-Point Contest. Some notable names for this include Paul George, Michael Jordan, Ray Allen, Damian Lillard, Jaylen Brown, Zach LaVine, and Brent Barry. However, only a few can claim to have won these competitions during their attempts.
Michael Jordan, Zach LaVine, and Brent Barry are some of the notable winners of the Slam Dunk contest to have also participated in the three-point shooting competition. On the other hand, Damian Lillard and Ray Allen, who hold three-point contest titles, have also attempted to seal their mark by winning the dunk contest during their All-Star weekend outings. Perhaps, this season we could see something different and have a player who can boast the title of winning both the competitions in their career.
