Damian Lillard, out all season while recovering from a ruptured left Achilles tendon, matched a record by winning his third career NBA three-point shooting game on Saturday.
Having received special permission from the league to participate, the 35-year-old Portland Trail Blazers point guard beat Phoenix and Devin Booker 29-27 in the final.
“In a season where I’m not playing, the fact that the league allowed me to participate in an event like that, to feel some competition, to feel some pressure and to get back in front of the fans, it was really a great experience,” Lillard said.
Lillard was injured in last season’s playoffs with Milwaukee, then was cut by the Bucks and signed by the Trail Blazers, the team with which he played his first 11 NBA seasons.
Showing the same solidity that has made him one of the best three-point shooters in the league, Lillard added the 2026 title to his 2023 and 2024 victories, thus tying the record for victories in the event held by Larry Bird and Craig Hodges.
“I’m only doing this for this, to continue to enrich my legacy, my reputation and stay true to myself,” Lillard added. “I was given an opportunity and I took it.”
Lillard shot last in the opening round, where eight players competed for the three available spots in the final.
Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel opened the game and reached the final with 27 points, 2018 winner Booker, second to last to shoot, scored 30 points and Lillard finished with 27 — making five consecutive 3-pointers from the left corner — thus surpassing Cleveland and Donovan Mitchell, stopped at 24.
“You just have to let the ball go and trust your instincts as a shooter,” Lillard explained. “You can’t let it affect you if someone else lights up or if the crowd gets loud… you just have to roll and stay yourself, and that’s what I come here to do.”
In the final, Knueppel opened with 17 points, Lillard hit the final baseline shot to finish with 27, and Booker missed the final three shots from the same position, any of which could have tied Lillard.
“I was praying he was wrong,” Lillard admitted. “Going in, I figured it would end up being me, Book and Kon. I knew it was going to be a tough match. He was in position to win. All it took was for a couple of shots to go off the rim, but sometimes that’s how it goes.”
Among other NBA All-Star Saturday efforts, the Shooting Stars competition was won by Team Knicks, featuring New York’s Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and former Knicks star Allan Houston.
date: 2026-02-15 08:22:00
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