Suns owner Mat Ishbia offers $1 million to 2027 All-Star 3-point, dunk winners
Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia has a plan to help improve the star quotient when his team hosts NBA All-Star Weekend in 2027, and it’s a proposition that comes with a big financial boost.
Ishbia joined the Pat McAfee Show at the NFL Combine on Wednesday, during which McAfee announced Ishbia’s idea: $1 million to the winner and $1 million to a charity of the winner’s choice for the dunk contest and 3-point contest.
“Let’s bring in the best,” Ishbia said. “Let’s make it awesome.”
While the idea may seem intriguing, it’s not as simple as Ishbia and McAfee presented it. Officials from the NBA league office and players’ union told ESPN that adding prize money would not be consistent with the existing bonus structure. Ishbia did not consult the league office.
The 3-point contest didn’t have as much trouble convincing stars to participate as the dunk contest. Damian Lillard won this year’s 3-point contest – his third such title – and previous winners include Stephen Curry (twice), Klay Thompson and Karl-Anthony Towns. This year, Lillard beat out several other big names, including Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, Tyrese Maxey and Donovan Mitchell. Curry has already committed to participating in this event next year.
The dunk contest, however, was a different story. Keshad Johnson, who is averaging about seven minutes per game this year for the Miami Heat, won the event over Carter Bryant, Jaxson Hayes and Jase Richardson, none of whom average more than seven points per game. The last player to win the dunk contest the same year he was an All-Star was former Clipper Blake Griffin, who jumped over a car in 2011.
