A Look Back At Every Atlanta Hawks All-Star Saturday Night Contest Winner
Trae Young is set to become the latest Atlanta Hawk to participate in All-Star Saturday night and he is also trying to become the first ever Hawk to win either the three-point contest or be on the winning team in the skills challenge.
Looking back on the history of the Hawks participating in All-Star Saturday night, Young could have a record-setting night.
The Hawks have only ever had a contest winner in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, but that was nearly 20 years ago.
Josh Smith won the dunk contest in 2005 over Amar'e Stoudemire, Chris Anderson, and J.R. Smith. Smith tried defending his title the next season but came up short.
Dominique Wilkins is a two-time dunk contest champion and if the All-Star Game had been anywhere but Chicago in 1988, he would have won it three times. In between Wilkin's two titles, Spud Webb won the dunk contest in 1986. The last time a member of the Hawks participated in the dunk contest was in 2019 when John Collins attempted to win.
This is the fourth time a member of the Hawks has participated in the skills challenge and the second time that Young has participated. Young participated in 2019, Dennis Schroder and Jeff Teague in 2015, and Teague also participated in 2013. Young is going to be paired with 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey and Raptors forward Scottie Barnes and I think they have a chance to win tonight.
This is going to be Young's third time participating in the three-point contest and he is among the favorites to win tonight. Young is third in the latest three-point contest odds from Fanduel and he has some things working in his favor. Young is 5th in the NBA in average three-pointers made per game and none of the four guys above him are participating in the contest. Young is third in the NBA in total three-pointers made, behind Steph Curry and Luka Doncic. After not being able to win the first two times, the third time could be the charm for Young.
Trae Young vs the 76ers
Lillard (+370) is the favorite to defend his title as the three-point champion, but not by much. Haliburton (+440), Young (+550), Beasley (+650), Brunson (+700), Towns (+700), Markkanen (+800), and Mitchell (+950) are all viable candidates to win the title.
I think that Beasley is an interesting pick for this weekend, as is Young. Of the players involved in the contest, Beasley has the highest three-point percentage among them at 45%, which is 7th in the NBA. I think if there is one player that is overvalued a little bit in the odds market, I think it is Haliburton. He is second in the odds, yet does not have as high of a three-point percentage as Beasley, Markkanen, and Brunson.
I think that Young is going to win his first All-Star Saturday night event. Picking these contests is hard, but I am going to go for the first-time winner and one player who can hit from a distance.
How to Watch All-Star Saturday Night
What: All-Star Saturday Night
When: 8:00 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 17th
Where: Indianapolis, IN
Watch: TNT
Stream: WATCH TNT
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