Former Raptors Favorite is Hoping for 3-Point Contest Honors

Norman Powell doesn’t want another relaxing All-Star break.

It’s weird, right?

Most 30-year-old players are more than happy to take a few days off to regroup before the stretch run. Even the All-Stars are in and out of All-Star weekend as fast as possible with their private jets waiting on the tarmac for the moment the final buzzer of the All-Star Game sounds.

But the former Toronto Raptors sharpshooter is different.

“I've had enough of those (breaks),” Powell told me during his recent trip to Toronto. “I definitely want to be a part of All-Star Weekend.”

Powell has been stumping for a spot in the NBA’s three-point contest and, if you ask him, an invite is well overdue.

The numbers say he’s right. His 44.2% three-point stroke this year is fifth-best in the NBA among the 95 players with at least 190 attempts. Only Grayson Allen, Malik Beasley, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard have been better from behind the arc. But Powell has a body of work that rivals even the best shooters, having shot 41.1% from three-point range over the past five seasons combined.

“I think it'd be a lot of fun,” Powell said. “I feel like I should have been in the three-point contest a few times already just with where my percentages. But if I make it, I'm gonna do it. I’ll have a good time with it.”

Powell has done his homework too.

He’s spoken to his former Raptors teammates Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet about their experiences in the three-point contest. When he joined the Los Angeles Clippers a few years back he picked Luke Kennard’s brain too. He doesn’t just want to show up, he wants to win.

“I've talked about a lot of times; I want to be an All-Star. So I feel like that's a good entryway to be a part of All-Star Weekend and compete and be a part of all the activities,” Powell said.

If he does earn a spot, it’ll be a remarkable turnaround considering where Powell was coming out of college as a 31.4% three-point shooter. Even in his first three NBA seasons, nobody thought he’d blossom into one of the league’s most efficient scorers.

But through hard work and repetitions, Powell has turned himself into a marksman from three-point range. A spot in the three-point contest would be the capstone in one of the most remarkable shooting developmental stories in recent memory.