Best Bet To Win The Three-Point Competition: Lauri Markkanen

• Lauri Markkanen is the best bet to win the three-point competition at NBA All-Star Weekend with +750 odds.
• Markkanen is one of only two contestants shooting at least 40.0% from three, and he shoots even better at home.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Lauri Markkanen looks to represent the NBA All-Star Weekend hosting Utah Jazz well, with the breakout star the best bet to win the NBA Three-Point Competition with +750 odds.

NBA Three-Point Contest Odds

• Damian Lillard +300
• Buddy Hield +325
• Kevin Huerter +550
• Jayson Tatum +650
• Lauri Markkanen +750
• Tyrese Haliburton +750
• Tyler Herro +800
• Julius Randle +950

Betting on Lauri Markkanen at NBA betting sites to win the three-point contest is both a bet on “Lauri Bird” and against his competitors.

One way to successfully do both is to use 3-Point Contest history. Bettors can go through the list of players and notice one unsurprising trend: the most accurate three-point shooters in the league typically win the event.

Three of the past four winners shot at least 40.0% from three in the season that they won the three-point contest.

If that trend is to continue, bettors can limit their pool of players at legal sports betting sites to just two.

Three-Point Statistics of each Player in the Three-Point Contest

• Damian Lillard (+300): 4.2 3PM/11.2 3PA on 37.2% Shooting
• Buddy Hield (+325): 3.8 3PM/9.0 3PA on 42.6% Shooting
• Kevin Huerter (+550): 2.6 3PM/6.8 3PA on 39.2% Shooting
• Jayson Tatum (+650): 3.3 3PM/9.3 3PA on 35.7% Shooting
• Lauri Markkanen (+750): 3.0 3PM/7.4 3PA on 41.2% Shooting
• Tyrese Haliburton (+750): 2.9 SPM/7.2 3PA on 39.9% Shooting
• Tyler Herro (+800): 3.0 3PM/8.1 3PA on 36.9% Shooting
• Julius Randle (+950): 2.7 3PM/8.0 3PA on 33.8% Shooting

Lauri Markkanen and Buddy Hield are the only two players that are shooting at least 40% from three in the contest.

Players could realistically wager on both and profit regardless of which one ends up winning, but two specific reasons suggest that taking the long +750 odds for Markkanen is a better bet than Buddy Hield:

• Karl-Anthony Towns’ Performance Last Year: Last season KAT won the three-point contest with the longest odds in the contest, proving upsets are likely to happen in this event. Towns also helped reestablish a precedent of big men winning the award, joining the list of Kevin Love and Dirk Nowitzki to do so in the last 17 years. Markannen, a seven-footer, will have a strong chance to make it four.
• Home Court Advantage: Markkanen has been a much better shooter at home this season than on the road with the Utah Jazz. At home, Markkanen shoots 44.9% from three and only 37.9% while on the road. Interestingly enough, Hield has been a better shooter on the road (43.2%) than at home (42.1%) this season. Markkanen’s three-point shooting is better than Hield’s when taking location into account.

With the precedent of the big men winning the three-point contest reestablished, and Markkanen shooting so well at home, taking Lauri Markkanen to win the three-point contest with +750 odds may be the best bet for NBA All-Star Weekend.