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Nets forward Joe Harris shocked the world in 2019 when he beat Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry in the three-point contest in Charlotte. Harris hit his last six shots in the final round of the contest and took the three-point crown from Curry. To add insult to injury Charlotte is Curry’s hometown. Despite such a major upset in 2019, Harris had a disappointing defense of his title during All-Star Weekend 2020 in Chicago. He did not even advance to the championship round. Harris was asked by one reporter if he planned on participating in the three-point contest when the NBA Hosts its All-Star Weekend in Atlanta in March. His answer might surprise you.
Joe Harris Won’t Participate in the Three-Point Contest
“I wish well to all the participants,” Harris told Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News. Last week the NBA announced its decision to host its annual All-Star Game at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, a decision is still looming on if the three-point contest and dunk contest will be held in Atlanta. The NBA and the players union are still negotiating the terms.
The NBA’s decision to host the annual event was not received well by a lot of players, especially after the national television fiasco with Kevin Durant last week. With the NBA struggling to battle the virus in a season that is already compact, the players would rather spend that time recovering. Los Angeles Lakers forward and 2020 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player LeBron James is completely against the idea of having the event. Aside from their Finals opponent, the Miami Heat, LeBron and his teammates have had a quicker turnaround than anybody in the league.
NBA Stars Are Against the All-Star Game
“I have zero energy and zero excitement about an All-Star Game this year,” James said via Sports Illustrated. “I don’t even understand why we’re having an All-Star Game; we’re also still dealing with a pandemic, we’re still dealing with everything that’s been going on, and we’re going to bring the whole league into the one city that’s open? Obviously, the pandemic has absolutely nothing to do with it at this point when it comes to that weekend.”
2020 Most Valuable Player, Giannis Antetokounmpo weighed in on the NBA’s decision to have the event as well. “At the end of the day, if we have the All-Star game, I hope the fans can be there. And we can give back to them, but at the end of the day if we have the All-Star game just to have an All-Star Game and don’t have no fans, I don’t see the point.” Antetokounmpo told Eric Woodyard of ESPN.
The consensus around the league seems to be that none of the players are interested in playing in the event because they are exhausted. Most teams do not even have enough time to really practice, so how could they have time to play in the All-Star Game? On top of that you are putting the top players in the league together in Atlanta, a city that has been duly noted for not complying with COVID regulations. It doesn’t seem to be a decision that is not beneficial to the players in any way.
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