Oklahoma State’s first competitor in the 3-point contest had a rough night.

On Saturday, former OSU star Cade Cunningham took part in All-Star Saturday and competed in the NBA 3-Point Contest. In his first time competing in the 3-point contest, Cunningham came in as a clear underdog, with the worst odds of the eight competitors.

Despite being the worst shooter statistically and having the worst odds, Cunningham didn’t have the worst night on the floor. Although he couldn’t advance to the second round of the shootout, he was still in the mix with a solid performance.

Cunningham finished with 16 points in the first round, finishing sixth. Cunningham was ahead of Norman Powell and Cam Johnson, who each had 14 points. 

While 16 isn’t exactly the greatest score in the contest, eventual winner Tyler Herro had only 19 points in the first round to advance to the final. With Damian Lillard and Jalen Brunson each finishing with 18, Cunningham was a Starry deep ball away from forcing a tiebreaker with Herro.

Herro’s 25-point final round earned him the win over former Sooner Buddy Hield and Cavaliers guard Darius Garland. While Cunningham is not known for his shooting, he looked mostly on par with some of the most notable shooters in the league.

Cunningham’s run was doomed by his rough start, making only two shots and scoring only two points across his first two racks. He began to find a bit of rhythm from the top of the key but still entered his final rack with a measly eight points.

With the left corner being his money rack, Cunningham had an opportunity to rack up some points and did so. He made four of his final five shots to get to 16 and might have had a chance to carry that momentum had he moved on. 

Instead, his poor performance from the first few racks quickly put him on the chopping block and pushed him out of the competition. Although Cunningham had an underwhelming run in the 3-point contest, his weekend is far from over. On Sunday night, Cunningham will play in his first All-Star Game and look to shine bright against some of the NBA’s best.

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