2025 NBA All-Star 3-Point Contest: Format and rules explained

The great and the good of the NBA will gather for All-Star Saturday Night n Saturday, with some big chances to the format for 2025.

The All-Star format has been criticised in recent years but organisers will hope that the changers will help to bring more fans to the action. Alongside the spectacle of the All-Star Game, there’s plenty to look forward to in the 3-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest.

This year’s eight-player field is Jalen Brunson (Knicks) Cade Cunningham (Pistons) Darius Garland (Cavaliers) Tyler Herro (Heat) Buddy Hield (Warriors) Cam Johnson (Nets) Damian Lillard (Bucks) and Norman Powell (Clippers). For most, Damian Lillard is the hot favourite as the two-time defending champion. Can he make it a three-peat this time around?

What are the rules for the NBA All-Star 3-Point Contest?

The eight players will take it in turns to shoot from the three-point line with the top scorers advancing to the next round. Each player will get 70 seconds to shoot 27 balls placed at different angles along the 3-point line. 25 of those balls are placed in five spots across the line; two at the corner, two on the wing and one straight-on. There are also two additional deep shots, completing the 27.

In each of the five-ball racks, four are regular balls and one is a multi-coloured ‘money ball’ that is worth two points. The long-range ‘Starry Balls’ count for three points.

Once every player has shot, the three players with the highest scorers will advance to the second round. The winner of the second round is the champion. If two or more players are tied, another round is played until a winner is found.

Lillard can join a select club of three-peat winners if he is triumphant again in 2025. Larry Bird was the first player to complete the treble, winning the first three in the contest’s history. Aside from Bird, Craig Hodges of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls is the only other player to manage a three-peat.

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