Fourth Kings starter going to NBA All-Star Weekend; Huerter invited to 3-Point Contest
Kings guard Kevin Huerter has long dreamed that one day he would get a chance to participate in the 3-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend. Now, he will get his shot.
A league source told The Sacramento Bee Huerter has been invited to compete in the 3-point shootout, which will be held Saturday at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. Huerter joins a Kings contingent that already includes All-Stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis as well as rookie Keegan Murray, who was chosen to participate in the Rising Stars tournament.
The Kings (32-24) are third in the Western Conference as they seek to end their NBA-record playoff drought after 16 consecutive losing seasons. They have not sent four players to All-Star Weekend since 2019, when Fox, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Marvin Bagley III participated in the Rising Stars game while Buddy Hield competed in the 3-Point Contest.
The full field of participants for the 3-Point Contest, Slam Dunk Contest and Skills Challenge have not been officially announced. At this point, the Kings and Houston Rockets are the only teams known to have four starters participating in All-Star Weekend. The Rockets will have Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun in the Rising Stars tournament with Kenyon Martin Jr. competing in the Slam Dunk Contest.
Huerter, 24, is a 6-foot-7 shooting guard who came out of Maryland as the 19th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft. He spent his first four seasons with the Atlanta Hawks before the Kings acquired him last summer in the trade that sent Maurice Harkless, Justin Holiday and a protected first-round draft pick to Atlanta.
Huerter is averaging a career-high 14.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals in his first season with the Kings. He is shooting career bests of 47.8% from the field and 39% from 3-point range.
Other players picked to participate in the 3-Point Contest, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, include the Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton and Hield – both former Kings – and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons. That has led to speculation that this year’s format could feature some sort of team competition.
If so, Huerter could be joined in the 3-Point Contest by one of his teammates. The most likely choice might be Murray, who is shooting 41.7% from 3-point range this season, but Murray on Monday said he is planning to fly to Iowa to visit family Saturday and Sunday after competing in Friday’s Rising Stars games.
Hield competed in the 3-point shootout twice while playing for the Kings. He reached the finals in 2019 and won the event in 2020, defeating Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker in the final round. Hield and Haliburton, who will also participate in Sunday’s All-Star Game, went to Indiana in the blockbuster trade that brought Sabonis to Sacramento last season.
This story was originally published February 13, 2023 at 12:14 PM.
