FanDuel Rolls Out Free Pick’em Game For NBA 3-Point Contest ($25K In Prizes)

We’ve made it to one of the most fun weekends in the NBA calendar. The league’s best players and celebrities from all backgrounds will descend upon Chi-Town for the 2020 NBA All-Star Game. President’s Day Weekend has become synonymous with players building their legacies and lesser-known names becoming overnight sensations. This year, with the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant, it takes on additional prominence in celebrating the joy that basketball brings billions around the world. While the league honors Bryant’s legacy on Sunday night with a bizarre format for the All-Star Game, Saturday night brings the usual skill competitions. FanDuel is offering a cool opportunity to score some cash from the Mountain Dew 3-Point Contest.

How the 3-Point Props Pick’em works

Playing the game is simple. Sign up for a FanDuel account (if you haven’t already), and you’ll be directed to the FanDuel homepage where you’ll find the Props Pick’em game in a bright green Mountain Dew banner. Click the link and answer the five questions about Saturday’s 3-point contest. Answer the five questions correctly, and you’ll share $25,000 in prizes with the other winners. The contest closes at 8:30 p.m. EST on Saturday. Picks can be changed until the lockout time.

Props Pick’em tips

You may not follow the NBA all season, in which case we’ve put together some advice for each question to help you along the way. Question 1: Who will win the NBA All-Star Mountain Dew 3-Point Contest? I was dismayed to find out Philly’s new favorite Turkish long-distance expert Furkan Korkmaz did not make the field. There are some big names, including last year’s winner Joe Harris from the Nets. Other notable participants include Trae Young, Buddy Hield, and Zach LaVine. Damian Lillard was forced to pull out of the competition due to an injury, so definitely don’t pick him. Question 2: How many total points will be scored in the first round? Over/under 199.5. There are some changes to this year’s format. Players will shoot from five racks around the 3-point arc, with four balls worth 1 point each and the last of the first four designated the “money ball” and worth 2 points. The last rack is all “money ball,” with each successful shot worth 2 points. Mountain Dew has added two balls placed 6 feet behind the arc worth three points each. Each shooter has 70 seconds, up from 60, to complete the 27 shots, with a maximum possible score of 40 points per round. To eclipse the total, players would need to average 25 each, or about 67.5% of all possible points. Question 3: Will one player score at least 31.5 points in any round? It’s a simple yes or no question. It’s possible to achieve that number with just the standard 25 shots. However, if players can figure out the length of the “3-Ball” shot, it could certainly raise scores. Also, the ball is green, which will probably look bizarre to some. I don’t think it’ll have a different texture or surface to a standard basketball. Question 4: Will Trae Young make the final round? He’s one of the most fun guys to watch and will also play Sunday night as an all-star, starting in his second pro season. This season, he’s improved his distance shooting to 36.9%. Can he overcome the nerves of starting for Team Giannis? Will he shut it down late to save his energy? If you can figure that out, might be worth some money? Question 5: What will be the most consecutive shots made by a single player? Over/under 10.5. There may be some controversy around this question because it doesn’t note whether this streak counts if it’s from one round to another. Eleven 3-pointers in a row, even in a rhythm event like this, is quite a daunting task. So make the picks, make the money, and enjoy the weekend.