Raptors’ Danny Green will join Curry brothers in all-star three-point contest
Raptors forward Danny Green will have his work cut out in the three-point contest on NBA all-star weekend in Charlotte.
Green will be competing in a field of 10, including Steph Curry and his brother Seth. Former MVP Dirk Nowitzki, possibly playing in his final season, will also participate as the NBA announced its lineups for the major events held the night before the Feb. 17 all-star game at the Spectrum Center.
In his first season with Toronto, Green has shot 41.8 per cent from three-point range this season, the 21st-best mark in the NBA.
His best performance came on Jan. 19, when fans at Scotiabank Arena were chanting his name as he scored a season-high 24 points, and set a franchise mark for threes in a quarter with seven.
Green will be the fourth player in franchise history to compete in the event, along with Walt Williams (1997), Jason Kapono (2008-09) and Kyle Lowry (2016-18). Kapono won in 2008 for Toronto.
The stage for the Currys’ sibling rivalry couldn’t be more perfect, as both grew up in Charlotte.
“We’re very competitive and it’s always fun to compete against Steph. If I’m there, it’s my goal to win it,” Seth Curry, who plays for the Trail Blazers, said last month.
“All I know is that he’s going to try to whoop my ass,” Steph Curry, 30, said of his 28-yearold brother.
While Steph Curry, who won the three-point event in 2015, has become a superstar and is regarded by some as the greatest shooter in NBA history, Seth Curry has had more trouble latching on in the league. However, the former Liberty and Duke star has been a valuable reserve for Portland this season, and he entered Tuesday leading the league in three-point percentage at .485, with his older brother fifth at .451.
Others in the contest include last year’s winner, Devin Booker of the Suns, while the host team will be represented by Kemba Walker. Nowitzki, who won the event in 2006, may be on his “farewell tour,” according to Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who said recently that the 40year-old forward is “trying to decide if he’s going to take some time off or not.”
“He can do whatever he wants. He’s earned it. I don’t care,” Cuban added. “Whatever he wants to do, Dirk can do.”
Charlotte will also have a hometown player to cheer for in the dunk contest, as rookie forward Miles Bridges, who has gained notice for some ferocious jams, is set to join the four-man field.
The Hawks’ John Collins and the Thunder’s Hamidou Diallo are also aboard, as is the Knicks’ Dennis Smith Jr., who recently went to New York in the blockbuster trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas.
The skills challenge will have a little more of an international flavour, featuring rookie Luka Doncic of Dallas, Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic. Doncic will also be squaring off with the Hawks’ Trae Young, who was traded for the Mavericks forward — and overwhelming favourite for rookie of the year — on draft day.
The three events will take place on Feb. 16 at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center.