Sources: Pacers' Buddy Hield to compete in 2023 All-Star 3-point Contest
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Sources: Pacers' Buddy Hield to compete in 2023 All-Star 3-point Contest
Hield, who leads the league in made 3s this season, won the 2020 3-point competition in Chicago.
Buddy Hield has committed to compete in the 3-point contest at NBA All-Star Weekend 2023, league sources told Fieldhouse Files.
The annual event is held on All-Star Saturday, set for Feb. 18 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.
The Pacers guard is shooting 45% this season, including 42.5% from beyond the arc, and he leads the NBA in made 3s with 197 on 463 attempts. He has 19 more 3s than Steph Curry, who has played in 16 fewer games.
Hield and rookie Bennedict Mathurin are the only two Pacers to play in every game this season.
Hield ranks 31st all-time in 3-point field goals with 1,614.
Already, the Pacers have rookies Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard playing in the Rising Stars games on Friday at All-Star Weekend.
And Tyrese Haliburton will likely be voted into the All-Star game by the head coaches, which will officially be announced Thursday (Feb. 2) around the time the Pacers are tipping off against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The full list of participants for the skills challenge, 3-point contest and dunk contest are expected to be announced next week.
Hield, who turned 30 in December, won the 2020 3-point competition in Chicago, right before the start of the pandemic. Karl-Anthony Towns won last year in Cleveland and Curry came out on top in 2021.
Hield declined to defend his championship in 2021.
“I can spend some time with my family, and hopefully next year I have an opportunity to have a crack at it again when hopefully we're not under COVID rules, where we can do some stuff," Hield said in March 2021 (via NBC Sports Bay Area). “I'm just tired of being locked into rules and stuff like that. I'm too unruly.”
Should Haliburton be named an All-Star, the Pacers will have participants all three nights in Salt Lake City.
And next year, All-Star Weekend will be held in Indianapolis.
