Asked by Kenny Smith in a pre-competition interview what it would take for him to become the first player to win a 3 Point Contest and a Slam Dunk, Zach LaVine shot straight.
“Make more shots than the other guys.”
But the Bulls guard’s 22 points were not enough to get out of the first round of the 2021 3-point contest, held just before the All-Star game. LaVine ended tied with Donovan Mitchell in fourth place, ahead of Jaylen Brown (17), but behind Steph Curry (31), Mike Conley (28) and Jayson Tatum (25).
“I was upset with myself. I missed the green money balls again, that’s what stops you,” said LaVine. “If you do one of these, it really helps to earn three points.”
LaVine changed his moneyball strategy a year after being eliminated in the first round with 23 points in the 2020 shooting. He hit 3 of his 5 money balls from the left corner, a zone he hit 5 out of 5 last season (the 10 out of 10 in the corners, overall) and made 59.3 percent of his attempts at Campaign 2020-21.
But in the end, the 31st of Curry’s first round sank him. The Warriors star was the last of the five contestants and eliminated LaVine and Mitchell from the third draw to the outside.
“Counting on him (Curry) to get a lower score than you going to the last guy is not the guy you count on,” said LaVine. “I practically put my warm-up on that spot.”
Tatum sold out with 17 in the second round, while Conley kept warm to post 27. For a moment, it looked like Curry might lose, but a torrid tear crowned by a moneyball 3 to close pushed him to 28 and into the second contest 3 career points.
If LaVine wants to make that slice of the story mentioned, he will have to wait another year.
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