Devin Booker makes history, wins Three-Point Competition
By Chad Boyles
Fresh off a 28-point performance against the Utah Jazz on Valentines Day, Devin Booker took to the hardwood on Saturday as part of All-Star Weekend’s Three-Point Contest where he scored 28 again, this time in the final round on his way to his first shooting title
The first round was a bit of a disappointment. Paul George finished with a Contest low 9 points, while Kyle Lowry scored 11, and defending Champion Eric Gordon struggled throughout racking up only 12.
Phoenix Suns
Devin Booker and Klay Thompson led the way with 19 while Tobias Harris snuck into the final round with 18. Those three advanced to the finals.
In the final round, Harris kicked things off. After scorching the first couple of racks, Harris cooled down considerably and finished with only 17 points. Next was Booker, who stayed hot at every rack, putting up a monster 28. Lastly, Klay Thompson, who initially gave Suns fans everywhere a scare, but fizzled in the middle rack and finished with a score of 25.
Book’s impressive 28-point performance was not only enough to get him the win Saturday night, it also set the record for the competition, the most points ever in the Contest’s history.
In 2014, the contest underwent changes, adding the full money-ball rack which expanded the max score from 30 to 34. Regardless, Booker stands alone at the top, above all winners since the Three-Point Competition was introduced in 1986.
In accurate historical context, and counting the first four balls in the final rack (Devin’s money rack) as 1 point, Devin Booker would have scored 25 points, tying him with Jason Kapono in 2008 and Craig Hodges in 1986 as record holders before the rule change.
The Phoenix Suns certainly have a superstar in the making, already with a 70-point performance, and a Three-Point Contest win at All-Star Weekend under his belt. Not to mention the all together impressive numbers he is putting up.
Oh yeah…he’s also 21.
Next: Even with Elfrid Payton, Devin Booker still needs run at Point
While sights are set ahead to the summer, the next opportunity for Ryan McDonough to improve the roster around Book, it was nice to see Devin Booker hoist a trophy during All-Star Weekend while going down in history.