While there is no Golden State Warriors in the All-Star game, at least there are some notable Warriors starters in other events that weekend. Dorell Wright has been chosen to participate in the Foot Locker Three Point Contest, as reported by Warriors.com. Wright, who leads the league in 3-pointers made (more than Ray Allen!), will battle Boston Celtic’s Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant, Cleveland Cavaliers' Daniel Cole. I mean Daniel Gibson and the Miami Heat’s James Jones.
Wright joins a long list of Warriors who have previously starred in All-Star weekend festivities if not the actual All-Star game itself. Who could forget Jason Richardson’s dunk contest wins, Stephen Curry’s near win at the 3-point shootout last year, and, of course, Gilbert Arena’s Rookie-Sophomore game MVP award.
But what are Wright’s odds of winning?
I would say pretty slim. Unlike Ray Allen and Kevin Durant who both have a rapid fire stroke, great for timed events like this, Wright seems to take a while to cock the ball back up over his head, then with a pretty and thorough follow-through. It’s nice to look at, but it’s not exactly very quick. On top of that, Wright is mostly a spot-up shooter who hits from the corners or from 45 degree angle from the hoop. Having to move around the whole court feels like it might hurt his chances. Maybe Curry can just toss some passes to him instead?
Either way, it should be interesting to see how he matches up.