In 1986 was the inaugural NBA Three-point Contest, featuring Eric “Sleepy” Floyd, Dale Ellis, Larry Bird, Trent Tucker and Norm Nixon, Craig Hodges, Leon Wood and Kyle Macy. Coming into this contest, Bird, also referred to as Larry Legend was the heavy favorite in this contest. Bird’s biggest competition was Hodges, who shot 45.1 percent (73-of-162) from 3-point range that season.
In the NBA 3-point contest the rules are simple. There is a rack of five balls on both corners, wings and one at the top of the key. Each rack has one blue and white money ball that is worth two points and the rest of the balls are worth one point. The highest score one can recieve is making 25 three pointers in row, totaling up to 30 points.
Bird started off slow scoring 16 points in the first round, but managing to make it to the 2nd round. Bird was wearing the red Eastern Conference All-Star jersey, and his green Celtics warm-up jacket and pantsbuttoned up. Whereas the rest of the contestants had their warm-ups fully off.
Bird finished the 2nd round with 18 points and Hodges with 14 point to advanced to the finals. As the finals came up, Bird got a bit more serious as he took off his Celtics warm-up.
A coin toss was used to determine who would go first, as Bird won and elected that Hodges went first. There is a question of whether it is better to go first or last, for going first puts the pressure off the contestant. However going last gives the contestant an advantage, for he knows how many baskets he needs to win.
Hodges went first and appeared to be tired as he only scored 12 points. On the contrary, Larry Legend appeared more confident as his warm up was finally off, scoring 22 points. Bird became the first 3-contest winner and and later defended his title in the 1988 Three-point Contest against Dale Ellis.
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