Donovan Mitchell To Compete In Three-Point Shooting Contest
Feb 24, 2021, 1:05 PM
Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz warms up before a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Vivint Smart Home Arena on January 21, 2021 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah –Â Donovan Mitchell will be competing in the three-point shooting contest on All-Star night in Atlanta. The Utah Jazz guard made the announcement on Wednesday while discussing his selection to the All-Star game.
“I’ll be in it, I’m doing it, so I’m excited,” Mitchell said. “I’m begging Joe [Ingles] to get in it but he’s old so he’s going to go sit in his rocking chair or something with the kids.”
On Tuesday, Mitchell was selected to be an All-Star reserve for the Western Conference along with teammate Rudy Gobert.
BREAKING: @utahjazz guard @spidadmitchell has officially been selected as an #NBAAllStar for the second straight season. #TakeNote
📰: https://t.co/CC85rDZfCy#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/9U456LG8lh
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 24, 2021
Mitchell is shooting a career-best 39 percent from the three-point line on 8.7 attempts and leads the Jazz in three-pointers made per game at 3.4.
The guard ranks 10th in the NBA in three-pointers made with 98 in just 29 appearances so far this season.
Mitchell will be the first Utah Jazz player to compete in the three-point shooting contest in more than two decades. The Jazz were last represented by Bryon Russell in the 2001 contest in Washington DC.
Sharpshooter Jeff Hornacek won the contest twice for the Jazz in 1998 and 2000. The 1999 contest was canceled due to the NBA lockout.
#TBT…current @Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek won the 1998 Three-Point Contest trophy at #NBAAllStarNYC. pic.twitter.com/42dAd7bADi
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 5, 2015
John Stockton twice competed in the contest, losing both times in 1992 and 1997. In 1990 Bobby Hansen became the first Jazz player to compete in the shootout.
This contest mark the fifth time Mitchell has participated in an event at All-Star weekend. The guard first appeared in 2018 in the Rising Stars Challenge and the Dunk Contest which he won as a rookie.
Mitchell was originally invited to participate in the Skills Challenge but replaced Aaron Gordon in the dunk contest after an injury to the Orlando Magic forward.
In 2019, the Jazz guard again competed in the Rising Stars Challenge and made his All-Star game debut in 2020.
The NBA has yet to release the other participants in the events. The Three-Point Shooting Contest, Skills Challenge, Dunk Contest, and All-Star game will all be held on March 7 in Atlanta.
