SALT LAKE CITY – Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley stood on their sides, arms around each other, as they watched the last photo of Steph Curry come up.
That last shot would determine whether Conley’s great performance in the NBA’s 3-point competition would be immortalized with a trophy, or simply be a project in another shooting award for Curry.
Well, at least Conley made the greatest sniper in NBA history sweat a little.
Mitchell and Conley smiled and turned in all but disbelief after Curry took his final shot to defeat Conley 28-27 in the final round of the NBA 3-point contest in 2021.
In fact, even if everyone tried to get him excited as things got tighter and tighter, Conley knew how it was going to end.
“I looked up and said, ‘Oh, I’m winning and he has a ball – if he loses I win,” said Conley. “But I knew it, I just knew it in the back of my mind. He’s the best sniper of all time for a reason.”
Conley was a late addition to the field. He found that he was replacing Devin Booker, an injured Phoenix guard, in the competition on Friday; and considering the entertainment value he brought with him, it was a good thing that he got the call. Without Conley in Sunday’s race, Curry, who also won the competition in 2015, may well have taken the victory laps early. No one else was even close.
Conley and Curry were the two best snipers in both rounds. Conley had a phenomenal opening round, scoring 28 points, while Curry, who was the last in the rotation, made a strong statement by scoring 31 points effortlessly.
Jayson Tatum also advanced to the final round with 25. Mitchell, Zach LaVine and Jaylen Brown were eliminated after the first round. Mitchell, who finished with 22 points, was a little disappointed by this. Mainly because he got the best score during the training session.
“I was really looking forward to being there,” said Mitchell. “Unfortunately, I didn’t show it. So, I’m very disappointed, I’m not going to lie to you.”
But he was happy to at least see that Conley was successful in the real competition.
Tatum was the first to shoot in the championship round and it quickly became clear that he would not be able to keep up with the pace he had established in the first round. He struggled to find a rhythm and finished with just 17 points.
Then came Conley. After an inconsistent start to the opening racks, Conley found his rhythm. He made 4 out of 5 from his money rack (where each shot was worth 2 points) immediately, hit the 30-foot shot with 3 points and then was perfect in the final corner.
This performance put some pressure on Curry to live up to his high reputation. Curry missed his first four shots in the final round, which made some people talk alongside Conley.
“Everyone next to me kept saying, ‘Uh-oh, Mike; u-oh, Mike’ like I could win,” said Conley. “I’m like, ‘Everyone shut up, shut up, shut up’. As soon as they started talking, Steph caught fire. “
Curry found his rhythm, hit both deep 3s and then everything went down to the last shot.
“(My mind) went blank,” said Curry when asked about the decisive moment in front of an almost empty arena. “Whatever the crowd here, I could hear the temperature rising a little bit. It was an incredible competition. I am happy to be finished.”