Devin Booker a long shot to win 2020 MTN DEW 3-Point Contest

Everybody’s favorite future Phoenix Suns Hall of Famer Devin Booker got some good news this week.

Courtesy of an injury to Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard. The good news is not the injury. The good news is that Book will participate in this weekend’s three-point shooting contest in Chicago.

Booker will be wearing his black Los Suns uniform in the contest to honor his Mexican heritage.

But Vegas doesn’t like his chances.

Here’s what the field looks like. With odds. Because without odds, why are we even doing this thing?

• Trae Young: +350
• Joe Harris: +400
• Davis Bertans: +450
• Duncan Robinson: +550
• Buddy Hield: +550
• Devin Booker: +700
• Zach LaVine: +900
• Devonte’ Graham: +1000

If you don’t know what these numbers mean, it means that if you put $100 down on Devin Booker to win the three-point contest, and he does in fact take home top honors, you would win $700.

That is not me encouraging you to gamble, but it is also not me not encouraging you to gamble.

A Suns rep has won the competition on two occasions. Two years ago Book reigned supreme in Los Angeles, collecting 28 of a possible 34 points. It’s worth noting for the first 27 years of the contest the maximum points a participant could rack up was 30.

Quentin Richardson was the 2005 winner in Denver.

If Devin Booker becomes the first Sun to win the three-point shooting contest champion since Devin Booker in 2018, he’ll join the group of Craig Hodges, Larry Bird, Peja Stojakovic, Jeff Hornacek, Mark Price, and Jason Kapono as the only players with multiple titles.

The rules are a little different this year. Learn something:

The 2020 MTN DEW 3-Point Contest features a new look with the addition of two shots in the “MTN DEW Zone” – two locations positioned equidistant between the traditional racks at the top of the 3-point arc and the adjacent “wing” rack. Each of the two ball pedestals in the MTN DEW Zone is located 6 feet behind the 3-point line and holds one special green ball, the “3-Ball.” Shots made with the green ball are worth three points. Click here for a diagram showing the location of the MTN DEW Zone.

In addition to the two new shots, the MTN DEW 3-Point Contest will continue to have five main shooting locations – four racks containing four official NBA game balls (each worth one point) and one multicolored “money” ball (worth two points) as well as one special “all money ball” rack. Every ball on the all money ball rack, which each participant can place at any of the five traditional shooting locations, is worth two points.

With the addition of the MTN DEW Zone, the number of balls in a round has increased to 27 from 25, the amount of time in a round has expanded to 70 seconds (1:10) from 60 seconds (1:00) and the maximum possible score in a round has risen to 40 points from 34 points. The three competitors with the highest scores in the first round advance to the championship round. The player with the highest score in the championship round is the winner of the 2020 MTN DEW 3-Point Contest. Click here for a complete explanation of the rules.

The 2020 MTN DEW 3-Point Contest from the United Center in Chicago gets underway at 9p ET or 6p where I Iive.