The Knicks never have had one of their players take home the trophy at the NBA’s 3-Point Contest at All-Star weekend, and Julius Randle didn’t come close to becoming the first.
The second-time All-Star finished in seventh place among eight entrants, with 13 points, as a late addition to the shooting showcase Saturday night in Salt Lake City. The winner was Damian Lillard of the Trail Blazers, who defeated Pacers teammates Buddy Hield and Tyrese Haliburton in the finals.
“I didn’t find out until after the Atlanta game [on Wednesday]. But they asked me, and I said why not?” Randle, who was named as a replacement for Portland guard Anfernee Simons, said earlier Saturday. “Have fun with it. I practiced once, I practiced [Friday], one time, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Randle, who ranks 123rd among qualifying players in the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage at 33.8 percent this season, finished ahead of only Kevin Huerter of the Kings (eight points). Randle sported the longest odds to win the contest at 11/1, according to BetMGM earlier Saturday, with Lillard listed as the favorite at +350.
Haliburton scored 31 points in the opening round to trigger a $300,000 donation by sponsor Starry (a new lemon-lime soda from Pepsi) to the NBA Foundation.
“Not bad for a fake All-Star!” guest TNT analyst Draymond Green joked, referring to MSG announcer Wally Szczerbiak’s criticism of Haliburton earlier this season.
The three-man Team Jazz, with Utah players Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton and Walker Kessler, won the Skills Competition over Team Rookies (Paulo Banchero, Jaden Ivey and Jabari Smith Jr.) and Team Antetokounmpo (Thanasis and Alex Antetokounmpo and Bucks guard Jrue Holiday, filling in for injured teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo).
Kevin Durant played his rookie season in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics in 2007-08 before that franchise relocated to Oklahoma City as the Thunder. Asked what city needs an NBA team that doesn’t have one, Durant replied flatly, “Seattle.”
And what would he name the team? “Sonics.”
DeMar DeRozan of the Bulls chose Las Vegas and said he’d name the team the Strips.
After he scored 27 points in the Jordan Rising Stars mini-tournament Friday night, including going 6-for-10 from long distance, Knicks second-year guard Quentin Grimes said he hopes to be asked to compete one day in the 3-Point Contest.
“I think it is [a goal]. I mean, it’s something that I pride myself on, shooting the ball really at a high level,” said Grimes, a career 36.2 percent shooter from beyond the arc. “So I feel like the 3-point competition would be down the road for me moving forward.”
In one of the odder questions presented to various players, Randle was among those asked which teammate he would want by his side in a zombie apocalypse: “Not Jalen Brunson, not Jalen Brunson, we’ll start off with that. I might go [with] Quick,” Randle replied, referring to Immanuel Quickley.