Damian Lillard: “I wanted to get some competition in”

Here’s Portland Trail Blazers legend Damian Lillard on why he decided to participate in the 2026 State Farm 3-Point Contest while still recovering from a torn left Achilles tendon (now a 3x three-point contest champion/tied for first all-time with Larry Bird & Craig Hodges).

(via Malika Andrews – ESPN):

“Well, I wanted to get some competition in, for one. And as crazy as it sounds, I think in the NBA we thrive off of pressure and those heavy moments when the stakes are high. Obviously this ain’t a championship, but it’s a competition. Everybody’s trying to win. It’s timed. It’s a score. It’s like something on the line. And I haven’t been able to feel that. So, just getting an opportunity to do it was why I really wanted to do it.

“And our league is changing. To keep the entertainment. To keep the fans engaged. To do stuff that is, I guess, not the norm — this is one of those things and I think it got people excited, it got people invested in it just as a narrative and as a story. And then for me to be able to win it, I think that makes a special moment for this competition.”