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Ranking the 10 Greatest Performances in NBA All-Star Three-Point Shootout History

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10 Best Three-Point Shootout Performances Ever

Larry Bird Three Point Shootout Champion Trophy
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The field for 2015's NBA All-Star Weekend's Three-Point Shootout is as star-studded as ever. This year's participants include Wesley Matthews, J.J. Redick, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kyle Korver and defending champion Marco Belinelli. With that lineup, there are sure to be some incredible performances, but how will they stack up against the best ever? Here are the all-time 10 best three-point shootout performances.

10. Larry Bird, 1988 – 23 Points

Larry Bird Three-Point Shootout
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10. Larry Bird, 1988 – 23 Points

Larry Bird Three-Point Shootout
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You had to figure the man who won the first three three-point contests would find his way onto this list. In the semifinals of Bird’s third-consecutive year as champion, the Hall-of-Fame Celtic caught fire to the tune of 23 points.

9. Tim Legler, 1996 – 23 Points

Tim Legler Three Point Shootout
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9. Tim Legler, 1996 – 23 Points

Tim Legler Three Point Shootout
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Legler’s performance throughout the entirety of the 1996 competition still stands today as the greatest three-round combined score in three-point shootout history. The current ESPN basketball analyst’s aggregate score was 65, with his high of 23 coming in the first round.

8. Kyrie Irving, 2013 – 23 Points

Kyrie Irving Three Point Shootout Trophy
USA TODAY Sports-Brett Davis

8. Kyrie Irving, 2013 – 23 Points

Kyrie Irving Three Point Shootout Trophy
USA TODAY Sports-Brett Davis

The Cleveland point guard must love NBA All-Star Weekend. In his rookie year of 2012, Irving was named MVP of the Rising Stars Challenge. The following season, the 2011 No. 1-overall pick won the three-point shootout with 23 points in the final round. Most recently, Irving put up one of the best performances in All-Star game history on way to being named the game’s MVP.

7. Marco Belinelli, 2014 – 24 Points

Marco Belinelli Three Point Contest
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7. Marco Belinelli, 2014 – 24 Points

Marco Belinelli Three Point Contest
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The current defending champion, San Antonio Spurs guard Marco Belinelli won the 2014 competition by tallying 24 points in a tiebreaker over Bradley Beal. Both three-point specialists scored 19 points in the finals to force the extra round.

6. Jason Kapono, 2007 – 24 Points

Jason Kapono Three-Point Shootout
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6. Jason Kapono, 2007 – 24 Points

Jason Kapono Three-Point Shootout
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Kapono always saves his best for last. The sharpshooter’s 24 points in the finals of the 2007 competition tied him with Mark Price, a name you’ll see again soon, for the highest score ever in the final round. The record would stand for just a single year, when it was trumped by the No. 1 performance on this list.

5. Hubert Davis, 1998 – 24 Points

Hubert Davis Three Point Contest
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5. Hubert Davis, 1998 – 24 Points

Hubert Davis Three Point Contest
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Davis’ 24-point round came in the semifinals in 1998, so unfortunately he wound up going home empty-handed despite one of the best rounds in the history of the competition. Davis drained all five of the “Money Balls” during his scintillating round.

4. Mark Price, 1994 – 24 Points

Golden State Warriors Mark Price Rick Adelman
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4. Mark Price, 1994 – 24 Points

Golden State Warriors Mark Price Rick Adelman
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Price is known as one of the better shooters in league history, so it came as no surprise to see him win his second-consecutive three-point shootout title in 1994. During the 1988-89 season, Price became the second player, after Larry Bird, to join the NBA’s 50-40-90 club for those who shot at least 40 percent from three, 50 percent from the field and 90 percent from the free-throw line.

3. Craig Hodges, 1991 – 24 Points

Craig Hodges 3 Point Contest
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3. Craig Hodges, 1991 – 24 Points

Craig Hodges 3 Point Contest
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The 1991 three-point shootout would be the second of three-consecutive victories for Hodges. Remarkably, he sunk a record 19-consecutive shots during the competition. In 1993, the NBA gave Hodges the opportunity to become the first four-time consecutive champion even though he was no longer an active player in the NBA. Wearing a red jersey with a simple NBA logo, Hodges failed to make it out of the first round.

2. Craig Hodges, 1986 – 25 Points

Craig Hodges Three Point Contest
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2. Craig Hodges, 1986 – 25 Points

Craig Hodges Three Point Contest
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Shooters came out hot in the first ever three-point shootout in 1986, but none hotter than Hodges. His record-high score of 25 came in the first round, so even while setting the record in Round 1, the two-time NBA champion eventually fell to Larry Bird in the finals.

1. Jason Kapono, 2008 – 25 Points

Jason Kapono
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1. Jason Kapono, 2008 – 25 Points

Jason Kapono
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Kapono’s 25 points in the final round of the 2008 competition won the shootout title as well as tying him with Craig Hodges’ all-time single-round record. The 25 points still remain as the record-high in final round history.

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