New York Knicks forward Julius Randle will participate in the 3-point contest on Saturday in Salt Lake City, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
New York Knicks All-Star Julius Randle is expected to replace Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons in the NBA 3-Point contest at All-Star weekend, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 16, 2023
He will reportedly replace Anfernee Simons of the Portland Trail Blazers, who hurt his ankle on Tuesday against the Washington Wizards.
Randle is an All-Star, and he’s having a career season. He hasn’t missed a game, and he has scored even more efficiently than he did in 2020-21 when he made Second Team All-NBA. He’s a surprising choice for this particular competition, though, because he’s not shooting particularly well from 3-point range.
Randle has attempted a ton of 3s this season — 8.0 per game, easily a career-high — but has made only 33.8 percent of them. He has shot 33.6 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s, 32.9 percent on pull-up 3s and 35.3 percent on wide-open 3s.
As a point of comparison, Simons has attempted 9.2 3s per game and made 38.1 percent of them, including 39.9 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s, 35.1 percent of his pull-up 3s and 46.3 percent of his wide-open 3s.
The last Knick to participate in the Three-Point Contest was Steve Novak in 2013, who tied for fourth place. Other Knicks to participate in past events include Danilo Gallinari, Quentin Richardson, Allan Houston, Charlie Ward, Hubert Davis and Trent Tucker.
Randle was already set to be in Salt Lake City for this weekend’s NBA All-Star Game, the second of his Knicks tenure, but now he has another event to add to his calendar. Randle won’t be the only Knick taking part in the festivities. Big man Jericho Sims will participate in the Slam Dunk Contest, and Quentin Grimes will be part of the Rising Stars challenge.
Randle may have the lowest three-pot percentage among all the contestants, however. He should not be the betting favorite to win according to New York sports-books.
