Damian Lillard won the 3-point contest, sending the NBA world into a frenzy

The last postseason, Damian Lillard suffered a torn Achilles while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks. Less than 10 months later, he wears a Portland Trail Blazers uniformed again and won its third 3-point contest in the last four years. Welcome to the twilight zone.

The star point guard, who hasn’t and likely won’t play a single game this season, overcame a long layoff and fierce competition from the likes of Devin Booker and rookie Kon Knuepel to reclaim his throne during NBA All-Star Weekend. He joins Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only players in NBA history to do so win the event three times. Booker was ready to take the trophy, but Lillard’s 30 points in the final round narrowly held up.

Although it’s been a while since the seven-time All-NBA selection officially took a three-pointer, fans were hit with a reminder that it’s still Lady Time.

Damian Lillard stuns the masses

“He’s {truly} one of the greatest to ever do it, he won the treble with half of the Achilles,” @JDCovbois2 noticed. “This man almost shed tears through a lot {really},” @rozaidaghost commented. “VAn incredible chapter has been added to his story.”

“From Achilles tear to 3x 3PT champion in just one year?” @loftimimi wondered. “Dame is built differently. Pure inspiration.” While many fans were delighted with Lillard’s still-smooth shooting, others were equally stunned by the NBA’s decision to allow him to compete in All-Star Weekend despite missing the entire campaign. Someone clearly lost a chance to enter the 3-point contest because of the 35-year-old’s involvement.

“Crazy talent, but let’s be real — giving a spot to a guy with 0 games played this season over active scorers feels like pure NBA entertainment marketing,” @Youngsiktus expressed. “Congratulations ladies.”

“This is the ultimate disrespect to the rest of the league,” @coldog05 stated. “Damian Lillard is dominating the skill competition here while literally doing nothing else all season. Crazy.”

Regardless of whether or not fans believe Lillard should have competed, he deserves a lot of credit for outshining everyone else at full strength. History will remember this event for the heroics and tenacity of the nine-time All-Star, and it will likely make up for the lack of NBA minutes he logged this season.

Perhaps more than anything else, this stunning display gives Blazers fans a huge reason to look forward to next season.