Kings’ Huerter invited to 3-Point Contest

Kings guard Kevin Huerter has long dreamed that one day he would get a chance to participate in the 3-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend. Now, he will get his shot.

A league source told The Sacramento Bee Huerter has been invited to compete in the 3-point shootout, which will be held Saturday at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. Huerter joins a Kings contingent that already includes All-Stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis as well as rookie Keegan Murray, who was chosen to participate in the Rising Stars tournament.

The Kings (32-24) are third in the Western Conference as they seek to end their NBA-record playoff drought after 16 consecutive losing seasons. They have not sent four players to All-Star Weekend since 2019, when Fox, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Marvin Bagley III participated in the Rising Stars game while Buddy Hield competed in the 3-Point Contest.

The full field of participants for the 3-Point Contest, Slam Dunk Contest and Skills Challenge have not been officially announced. At this point, the Kings and Houston Rockets are the only teams known to have four starters participating in All-Star Weekend. The Rockets will have Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun in the Rising Stars tournament with Kenyon Martin Jr. competing in the Slam Dunk Contest.

Huerter, 24, is a 6-foot-7 shooting guard who came out of Maryland as the 19th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft. He spent his first four seasons with the Atlanta Hawks before the Kings acquired him last summer in the trade that sent Maurice Harkless, Justin Holiday and a protected first-round draft pick to Atlanta.