When Zach LaVine laces up for the 3-point shootout tonight, an entire fanbase’s All-Star weekend hopes will rest on his shoulders. In Chicago’s first time hosting the festivities in over three decades, LaVine will be the only Bull to participate in an event. What's more, if he wins, he'll be the only player ever to win both a dunk and 3-point contest in his career.
No pressure, though.
LaVine certainly won’t cop to feeling any — and even if he did, it’s not likely to affect him too much. In this, a breakout sixth season, the Bulls’ leading scorer has blossomed into one of the deadlier high-volume 3-point threats in the league. Even in an absurdly crowded field of competitors, he remains confident.
“Yeah, you guys know, you've seen me play,” LaVine said at his All-Star media session Saturday morning. “If I get in a rhythm you know I can get real hot.”
And he’s coming prepared.
“When I've been practicing, I've been going through the racks and timing it with the minutes, and I get through it pretty easily,” LaVine said, adding that his favorite spots are the corners and middle. “And you know I got a pretty easy shot, as well, so I got a rhythm down so far.”
How he’ll look to utilize the newly-implemented MTN Dew Zones will be something to watch (he’s shown a proficiency for hitting from that type of range). The one concern: Fatigue.
NBA
“The first time I went through it, the dude that was with me was [Bulls Director of Player Development] Shawn Respert, I was like man this is tiring,” LaVine said. “You're shooting 25 shots, 27 shots within a minute, so. You get tired.”
Though LaVine said he hasn’t spoken to Craig Hodges — who won the 3-point contest representing the Bulls in 1989, 1990 and 1991 — he enters the night armed with tips from past participant J.J. Redick, as well as the undying confidence of his teammates.
“Yeah, I definitely think he gonna win it,” Wendell Carter Jr. said of LaVine’s chances. “I mean, there's a lot of great shooters in there but you know, under pressure, he knows how to make a lot of threes so that's why I think he'll win it.”
LaVine has proven that ability to perform under pressure time and time again, even in a tumultuous Bulls season. That quality has endeared him to large swaths of the Bulls fanbase — support he’ll be counting on tonight.
“I think I'll get a good reaction from the fans obviously. I think I'm pretty well-liked in Chicago,” LaVine said. Then, with a smile: “All I know is the rims better be friendly to me. I've been friendly to them so they better be friendly to me.”
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Bulls easily on your device.