Karl-Anthony Towns stood out in the list of contestants in the NBA All-Star Three-Point contest on Saturday night. Not only was he the only big man to compete, but his December comments to The Athletic claiming that he was “the greatest big-man shooter of all time.” brought headlines to the competition.
Despite Towns’ 41 percent shooting from distance this season and 39.6 percent career average, he was considered a long shot to win. Even with the number of long-distance shots KAT attempted this season, no one counted on the Wolves center in the shoot-out.
First Round:
The early favorites going into the competition were Trae Young, Patty Mills, and Desmond Bane.
The #MtnDew3PT contest field is stacked!
— NBA (@NBA) February 19, 2022
It’ll be raining triples tonight in Cleveland… tune in at 8:00pm/et on TNT ☔️ pic.twitter.com/aL9t3nLRfV
Bane took himself out of the competition early by tallying 18 points. Then Luke Kennard set the bar for the first round dropping 28 points to put pressure on the rest of the field. Then Towns became the most significant threat for the title, surprising many by putting up 22 points of his own.
Young provided some drama of his own by almost getting eliminated in the first round. He had to finish the round with a flurry to slide past Patty Mills by one point to get into the second round with 22 points.
Final Round:
KAT was the first shooter in the finals, and the way he shot the ball, everyone in the arena, including Ice Trae and Kennard, knew the competition was over. He made history and put on a show while doing it.
Towns concluded the event in epic proportions, taking home the shoot-out trophy in historic fashion by putting up 29 points beating renowned shooters Kennard and Young. KAT’s score broke the record for most points scored in the final round previously held by Devin Booker, who scored 28 back in 2018.
The reigning champ is not only the first center to ever win the event, but the first big man since Kevin Love in 2012 to take home the award.
Karl-Anthony Towns is a career 39.6% three-point shooter, and now he has the hardware to match 🏆
— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2022
Check out some of the best three-pointers from the 2022 #MtnDew3PT Champion Karl-Anthony Towns! pic.twitter.com/sMouEd4Brz
