Julius Randle added to the NBA 3-Point Contest

Add another former ‘Cat to the NBA All-Star excitement this weekend. Julius Randle will be replacing Anfernee Simons in the 3-Point Contest, who is sitting out due to an ankle injury. Randle made the All-Star team this season for the second time in three years and now will make his first appearance in the 3-point challenge.

Randle will join the bucket, Tyler Herro, in the contest, and give Kentucky a replacement representative for the Saturday festivities on the heels of Shaedon Sharpe backing out of the Slam Dunk Contest.

Twitter is abuzz with the news, overwhelmingly roasting the Kentucky big man for seemingly having no business participating in the event. You’d be surprised how many GIFs of people bricking basketball shots exist.

While no one is going to mistake Julius Randle for Karl-Anthony Towns, who became the first center to ever win the event last year, he is not without some elite-level 3-point milestones.

Randle has recorded eight games this season with at least 29 points, 10 rebounds, and five made 3-pointers. No other NBA player has had more than two, including fellow 3-point contestants, Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard.

Sure, Randle’s 33.8% clip from behind the arc is going to draw some jeers, but he is a streaky shooter, and catching fire at the right time is all that it takes to win the 3-point contest.

Karl-Anthony Towns walked into the contest last season with the worst odds to win it and walked out holding the trophy. Can Randle do the same and make it back-to-back Kentucky big men to win the NBA’s shooting crown? If nothing else, it gives them ammunition to tell Coach Calipari, “I told you so,” and that he should have let them shoot 3s in college.