The rumors about LeBron James returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers after this season have been somewhat non-stop since he played against his former team last month. In the last month, there was a report that the Cavs would welcome James back, The Athletic said a return to Cleveland would be the “obvious destination,” veteran reporter Jason Lloyd said LeBron will be playing in Cleveland next season if anywhere, and Donovan Mitchell and James Harden are rumored to be recruiting him.

We have one more rumor to add to that list.

Advertisement

On Friday, ESPN’s Tim McMahon said on NBA Today that there’s “rampant speculation” around the league that James will sign with Cleveland for a potential retirement tour this summer.

Support us and Let ‘Em Know with Homage!

Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE. The link to the 2016 championship shirt HERE.

At this point, it feels like LeBron will be returning home to Cleveland unless he retires after this season. What that would look like from a salary perspective remains to be seen.

The Cavs are currently over the second apron. They would not have access to the full mid-level exception unless they got under both aprons and then cut additional salary to carve out a spot for that exception. There’s also the possibility of a sign-and-trade if the Cavs get below the first apron. Or, James could opt to sign for a minimum contract.

Advertisement

It’s pointless to speculate too much on the finances at this point. There’s numerous scenarios for making this work from a cap perspective. If both sides want James to play in Cleveland, they’ll find a way to make it happen as they did back in 2014.

Advertisement

Even though LeBron is 41 years old, he’s still playing at an exceptionally high level. He recorded a triple-double in his last outing in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. On the season, James is averaging 22 points, 7.1 assists, and 5.8 rebounds on .502/.305/.746 shooting splits in a mostly supporting role alongside Luka Doncic.

We’ll see how this plays out. In the meantime, we can rest assured that there’s going to be plenty more rumors about James returning to Cleveland between now and July.

Don’t look now, but with Selection Sunday just four weekends away, the Florida Gators look like they intend to win another national championship.

Thanks to Wednesday’s 20-point win at Georgia…which followed a 19-point win at Texas A&M…which followed a 23-point home thrashing of Alabama…which followed a 47-point win at South Carolina, the Gators (18-6, 9-2 SEC) have built a one-game Southeastern Conference lead heading into Saturday’s first-place showdown with Kentucky in Gainesville, Fla.

They are a top-ten ranked team in the NET rankings as of Friday morning but fifth in KenPom, which is exactly where they were one year ago today. That’s just one of many good signs for the Gators.

Thanks to the nation’s most productive frontcourt — key returnees Thomas Haugh (17.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg), Alex Condon (13.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg) and Rueben Chinyelu (11.8 ppg, 11.8 rpg) — Florida leads the country in rebounding margin at plus-15.3 per game.

Per KenPom.com, the Gators boast the nation’s fifth-best defense as they allow just 91.1 points per 100 possessions. That’s a tad better than last year’s defense (91.8) that was good enough to win the NCAA title.

The sharps believe in the Gators, too. When you take a spin around the nation’s top online sportsbooks, Florida generally holds the fifth-best odds to take it all on April 6 in Indianapolis — trailing only Arizona, Michigan, Duke and Houston.

Long story short, the Gators are the best team in what continues to be college basketball’s best league. So of course they’re in the hunt for the national title.

So why doesn’t Florida have a legitimate shot to go back-to-back? Because they don’t have enough legitimate shooters.

Here’s what we mean: While the Gators enjoyed their best 3-point shooting night in months on Wednesday night at Georgia — going 10 of 26 (38.5%) from long range – they’re still below 30% for the year. Specifically, they’re at 29.2%, which ranks last among all power-conference teams and 353rd out of Division I’s 365 squads.

There’s nothing in modern college hoops history that suggests this is good enough to become the national champion.

Since the NCAA moved the 3-point line back to the international distance (22-foot-1¾) prior to the 2019-20 season, here’s how each NCAA champ has shot.

2025: Florida 35.6% 82nd in nation

2024: UConn 35.8% 72nd

2023: UConn 36.3% 62nd

2022: Kansas 36.1% 51st

2021: Baylor 41.3% 1st

2020: No tournament, but Kansas was the clear No. 1 per KenPom when the season was cancelled due to COVID — and the Jayhawks ranked 132nd nationally at 34.1%

If you look at last year’s Sweet Sixteen, only Michigan State (31.1%) was within a few percentage points of Florida’s current rate. It’s just too much to expect a bad 3-point shooting team to reel off six straight wins — especially when so many of the nation’s other top teams have embraced offenses with four or five shooters on the floor.

The Gators have just three guys who are hitting at least one 3-pointer per game: sixth man Urban Klavzar (49 of 127; 38.6%), Haugh (45 of 130; 34.6%) and shooting guard Xaivian Lee (37 of 145; 25.5%). As a team, Florida makes just 7.4 3-pointers per game.

Now look at the NET’s top 10 through Wednesday’s games. Here’s how they shoot from 3-point range, where that ranks nationally and how many guys average at least one 3-pointer per game:

Michigan: 35.4% 102 Six

Arizona: 35.7% 81 Three

Duke: 34.1% 175 Four

Houston: 34.1% 176 Four

Illinois: 36.1% 65 Seven

Gonzaga: 34.9% 133 Three

Florida: 29.2% 353 Three

UConn: 37.0% 39 Four

Iowa State: 40.0% 5 Four

Purdue: 37.7% 28 Five

One of these things is not like the others. That’s why the Gators won’t be able to separate themselves from the rest for another “One Shining Moment.”

No. 2 Michigan faces UCLA Saturday on CBS in a clash of Big Ten foes. This will be the 13th matchup between Michigan and UCLA since the turn of the century, with both programs having six wins against each other during that stretch.

The Wolverines (23-1) are off to their best 24-game start in school history, but are coming off an upset scare against Northwestern. Michigan trailed by as many as 16 points on the road before storming back in the second half to seal an 87-75 win over the Wildcats. Michigan’s lone loss came against Wisconsin last month at home.

UCLA has won five of its last six games after starting 4-3 in Big Ten play. The Bruins are coming off a 77-73 win over Washington after guard Trent Perry dropped 23 points. UCLA heads into the weekend 3.5 games back of Michigan in the Big Ten standings. 

The Wolverines hold a 2.0-game lead over Illinois for first place.

Michigan vs. UCLA: Need to know

Michigan could make race for No. 1 interesting: Michigan is the projected No. 1 overall seed in CBS Sports’ latest Bracketology projections. The Wolverines jumped to No. 1 overall after Arizona lost to Kansas earlier this week. With Arizona dropping its first game of the season, the AP Top 25 poll on Monday should be interesting. Arizona has been the consensus top-ranked team for several weeks. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Michigan get some consideration for No. 1.

Can UCLA get Donovan Dent going? The key to a potential upset for UCLA will be Dent. The former New Mexico star has had an up-and-down season with the Bruins after transferring in last offseason. Dent is having one of his best stretches at UCLA after recording at least 10 assists in three consecutive games. He played all 40 minutes against Washington and finished with 17 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.

Aday Mara faces his old team: A storyline to monitor will be Mara, who played the first two seasons of his career at UCLA, facing his old team. Mara played limited minutes under coach Mick Cronin at UCLA but has found a consistent role with the Wolverines. Michigan coach Dusty May has routinely deployed two-big lineups in his rotation. With Mara assuming a more prominent role, he has become one of the nation’s best defensive players.

Where to watch Michigan vs. UCLA live

Date: Saturday, Feb. 14 | Time: 12:45 p.m. ET
Location: Crisler Center — Ann Arbor, Michigan
TV: CBS | Live stream: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App
Streaming on Paramount+ Premium  

Michigan vs. UCLA prediction, pick

For the first 30 minutes of game time against Northwestern, Michigan looked vulnerable. Then, the Wolverines flipped the switch and looked like the team ranked No. 2 in the country. This game will be a tougher challenge for Michigan than its last matchup against Northwestern. Still, I expect Mara to have a big game against his old team and star forward Yaxel Lendeborg to have a bounce-back performance on offense after scoring just 35 points total in his last three games. Pick: Michigan -15.5

Who will win and cover in every college basketball game? Visit SportsLine to get picks from the model that simulates each game 10,000 times and is up more than $1,200 for $100 players on its top-rated spread picks the past six years. 

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — There is a warning sign on the 18th tee box at Pebble Beach that might also serve as a piece of course advice.

“NO SITTING ON FENCE.”

The genius of Pebble Beach exists in the extremes. Jagged rocks and foreboding surf and enormous dunes and tiny greens. Of the many skills required to thrive here, decisiveness is perhaps the most important. On the 18th tee box and in the winner’s celebration on the 18th green, there is no sitting on the fence.

Rory McIlroy knows this better than most. Anyone with a little bit of golf in their soul understood what McIlroy meant last February, when he suggested that winning at Pebble Beach for the first time meant a little bit more.

“There’s a few what I would call cathedrals of golf,” McIlroy said then. “Here, Augusta, St. Andrews — maybe a few more you could add in there.  I had a big fat zero on all of those going in here.  To knock one off at Pebble is very cool.”

Of course, anyone with a little bit of golf in their soul also knows what came after that victory at Pebble Beach: a third-career win at the Players Championship, and then a career-altering, sport-rattling, Grand Slam-clinching victory at the Masters.

When the tomes are written, that last victory in Augusta will be remembered as the one that kicked the door down for McIlroy. But it may be said that his first victory of 2025, at Pebble Beach, was the one that broke the lock.

“I’m a big historian of the game and I remember all the championships that have been played here,” McIlroy said then, eerily foreshadowing the history he would soon create at Augusta. “And to add my name to that list is pretty cool.”

Now, in 2026, the historian has been sent back into the library. With no further major championships to conquer and no additional road Ryder Cups to win, McIlroy has been forced to reset his goals. And, in doing so, he’s had the opportunity to confront a new question: Which “cathedrals” come next?

On Friday at Pebble Beach, the same day McIlroy shot five under to move into contention heading into the weekend, the Grand Slam winner faced the question himself for the first time.

“There’s places I haven’t won that I would love to,” McIlroy said. “St. Andrews being one of them. Riviera next week would be another. Riviera and Muirfield Village are two. They’re wonderful golf courses but who hosts the events as well. You know, Tiger and Jack. I was able to win Bay Hill but not while Arnie was around, so it would be nice to win both those tournaments while both those guys are alive and kicking.”

And perhaps the biggest outstanding victory on McIlroy’s list? Only the most elusive major championship site in the sport: the home of golf.

“There’s a lot of golf courses with a lot of history. There’s a lot of old U.S. Open sites that have had some great things happen at them,” McIlroy said. “Yeah, this is certainly one, Augusta was another, and the last one I think — not the last one, but the biggest one on the list would probably be St. Andrews.”

McIlroy will likely have at least one more chance to close out a major victory at the Old Course in the prime of his playing career. That will arrive in 2027, when the golf world returns to St. Andrews for the 155th Open shortly after his 38th birthday.

These are champagne aspirations to be sure, but it would be foolish to discount them as insignificant. As McIlroy learned at Pebble Beach last February (and again at Augusta National in April), breakthroughs often come in multiples.

And when it comes to picking his spots? Well, McIlroy certainly isn’t sitting on the fence.

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe sparked outrage earlier this week when he claimed the UK had been “colonised by immigrants”

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has apologised to the Glazers for his controversial comments about immigration which brought shame on Manchester United. It’s understood Ratcliffe contacted his fellow co-owners to explain himself and for the furore he had caused.

Ratcliffe sparked outrage when he claimed in an interview that immigrants had “colonised” the UK. The FA are now examining the comments before deciding whether to launch a full-scale investigation. In the meantime, the damage done to United’s image and reputation has been massive.

The Glazers are said to have huge concerns about what effect the backlash from Ratcliffe’s comments will have on United’s relationship with sponsors and commercial partners moving forward. There are also worries about what impact the events of this week could have on United’s hopes of building a new stadium.

Try MEN Premium NOW for just £1

Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham slammed Ratcliffe’s comments as being “inaccurate, insulting and inflammatory”.

Burnham has worked closely with Ratcliffe and United on plans to either regenerate Old Trafford or build a new £1billion stadium. The Glazers are desperate to see the project come to fruition because it would increase United’s valuation.

FOLLOW OUR MAN UNITED FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest news and analysis via the MEN’s Manchester United Facebook page

But the project will depend on alignment between the club, local councils and Greater Manchester leaders. Ratcliffe, who bought a £1.25billion stake in United in 2024, issued a statement on Thursday after his comments sparked an avalanche of condemnation.

He said: “I am sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe, but it is important to raise the issue of controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth.

“My comments were made while answering questions about UK policy at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, where I was discussing the importance of economic growth, jobs, skills and manufacturing in the UK.

Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings

“My intention was to stress that governments must manage migration alongside investment in skills, industry and jobs so that long-term prosperity is shared by everyone.

“It is critical that we maintain an open debate on the challenges facing the UK.”

Ireland U20 held off the gritty Italians 30-27 in a tight high-scoring 6 Nations game at Virgin Media Park in Cork on Friday night.

Tries a plenty in both halves – as both teams claimed bonus-point tries, a game that was in the balance for most of the night, saw the home side edge home by three points in the end.

Ireland score first

Ireland took an early lead with a relatively easy penalty kick for Garryowen’s Tom Wood. The Munster player comfortably slotted over from directly in front of the post for a 3-0 lead.

🇮🇪 3-0 🇮🇹
Ireland out-half Tom Wood claims the opening score of the game as the hosts take an early lead
Watch live coverage of Ireland v Italy in the Under-20 Six Nations on @rte2 ➡️ https://t.co/rEypK4GBey pic.twitter.com/PljD30nwRb

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 13, 2026

Advertisement

Barrett scores Ireland’s opening try

Winger Derry Moloney opened the Italian defence as he burst through the visitors side. Beginning in his own half, the Leinster speedster was supported by Noah Byrne and then by Christopher Barrett.

With Moloney offloading to Byrne, Barrett then received possession of the ball, and had the task of touching down for the game’s opening try. A second successful kick of the night from Tom Wood – this time, a conversion – pushed Ireland out to a 13-0 advantage with just over 13 minutes played on the clock.

🇮🇪 10-0 🇮🇹
Scrum-half Christopher Barrett with the opening try of the game
Watch live coverage of Ireland v Italy in the Under-20 Six Nations on @rte2 ➡️ https://t.co/rEypK4GBey pic.twitter.com/vFVj70IpZh

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 13, 2026

Ireland defence breached

Despite some moments of both poor passing and substandard handling, the Italians were next on the scoresheet. Winger Luca Rossa was on the receiving end of an Azzurri move as the Irish defence was breached for the first time tonight. Francesco Braga added the extras for the visitors, leaving Ireland with a 10-7 lead approaching the end of the first quarter of play.

Winger Ryan gets on score sheet

The hosts laid a charge to the Italian line following a powerful brake from centre Rob Carney. With Ireland pummelling the defensive line, winger Daniel Ryan eventually touched down in the furthest corner from thew Main Stand.

🇮🇪 15-7 🇮🇹
Daniel Ryan with Ireland’s second try as the Italian defence can’t hold out
Watch live coverage of Ireland v Italy in the Under-20 Six Nations on @rte2 ➡️ https://t.co/rEypK4GBey pic.twitter.com/Eu7sCV9Ynx

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 13, 2026

With a more difficult conversion attempt – right on the side line – Wood was unsuccessful this time, meaning Ireland had a 15-7 lead.

Converted try and penalty give Italians half-time advantage

Italy struck back immediately with a pushover try that saw hooker Valerio Pelli crash over for a five-pointer. A favourable position have Braga a relatively easy effort – which he converted, as the Irish lead was reduced to a single point.

🇮🇪 15-14 🇮🇹
Again Italy respond well to a setback, hooker Valerio Pelli powering over from a dominant rolling maul
Watch live coverage of Ireland v Italy in the Under-20 Six Nations on @rte2 ➡️ https://t.co/rEypK4GBey pic.twitter.com/Ri88G1e4XA

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 13, 2026

With the half-time whistle close, Italy won a penalty which Brage kicked to give the Italian side an unexpected 17-15 lead at the interval.

Half-time: 🇮🇪 15-17 🇮🇹
Italy take the lead with the final act of the half, Francesca Braga maintaining his 100% record off the tee in Cork tonight
Watch live coverage of Ireland v Italy in the Under-20 Six Nations on @rte2 ➡️ https://t.co/rEypK4GBey pic.twitter.com/mipp7j9U0e

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 13, 2026

Half-time: Ireland U20 15  Italy U20 17

The home side claimed the first score of the second half. Excellent teamwork and understanding between centre Rob Carney and Derry Moloney saw the winger score.

With Carney in possession as he made rapid throughout from his own half of the field to the opposition’s, the Cashel RFC man kept the Italian defence guessing as to whether he would go for the line himself or pass out to Moloney. Ultimately he did neither, as a nicely placed grubber kick was successfully chased by Moloney who score in the corner to the delight of the home fans.

Tom Wood was unsuccessful with his effort – his second missed kicked of the evening.

🇮🇪 20-17 🇮🇹
A huge hit from Tom Wood turns Italy over before Derry Moloney shows blistering pace to put Ireland back in front
Watch live coverage of Ireland v Italy in the Under-20 Six Nations on @rte2 ➡️ https://t.co/rEypK4GBey pic.twitter.com/D8DF7vUXUn

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 13, 2026

Pelli’s second try

With the Italians enjoying a period of domination on the field, Valerio Pelli claimed his second try of the night. As Italy made numerous efforts to cross the try-scoring line, the brawn and strength of the Mogliano Veneto Rugby player was required to complete the task. Kicker Braga missed at the posts for the first time, as the Italians held a slender 22-20 advantage.

🇮🇪 20-22 🇮🇹
Once again the Italians show their strength with the rolling maul, hooker Valerio Pelli with his second try of the night. The visitors back in front
Watch live coverage of Ireland v Italy in the Under-20 Six Nations on @rte2 ➡️ https://t.co/rEypK4GBey pic.twitter.com/REfU3bItVo

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 13, 2026

Bonus-point try for Josh Neil

Ireland soon fought back as they noticeably upped the tempo. With the Azzurri defence penalised near their own line, Ireland reacted quickly and three quick motions saw Josh Neil of Leinster in for the bonus-point try.

🇮🇪 27-22 🇮🇹
Josh Neill secures a bonus point for Ireland by barging over from close range
Watch live coverage of Ireland v Italy in the Under-20 Six Nations on @rte2 ➡️ https://t.co/rEypK4GBey pic.twitter.com/BEGATpZskF

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 13, 2026

Wood kicked – from directly in front of the posts – for a 27-22 lead, but the Munster number 10 soon extended this advantage, as a successful penalty kick – which saw Italian Davide Sette sin-binned – gave Ireland a little breathing space on the score board, 30-22, with the game inside the final quarter.

🇮🇪 30-22 🇮🇹
🟨 Italy’s Davide Sette is sent to the sin bin and Tom Wood converts the resulting penalty.
Watch live coverage of Ireland v Italy in the Under-20 Six Nations on @rte2 ➡️ https://t.co/rEypK4GBey pic.twitter.com/g0zdyKcTWt

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 13, 2026

Replacement Jacopo de Rossi gave the Italians hope of taking the victory in this game when his teammates’ powerful maul allowed him touch down for a try, his side’s bonus-point five-pointer. Braga, who had been so successful with his kicking in the opening period, missed his second of this half, as Ireland faced into the final 10 minutes with a slender three-point advantage.

Final score: Ireland U20 30  Italy U20 27

Ireland U20 Team

15. Noah Byrne (Dublin University FC/Leinster), 14. Derry Moloney (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), 13. Rob Carney (Cashel RFC/Munster), 12. James O’Leary (UCC/Munster), 11. Daniel Ryan (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht), 10. Tom Wood (Garryowen FC/ Munster), 9. Christopher Barrett (UCC RFC/Munster).

1. Max Doyle (UCD RFC/Leinster), 2. Lee Fitzpatrick (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), 3. Sami Bishti (UCD RFC/Leinster)(captain), 4. Dylan McNeice (UCD RFC/Leinster), 5. Donnacha McGuire (UCD RFC/Leinster), 6. Joe Finn (Garryowen FC/Munster), 7. Josh Neill (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster), 8. Diarmaid O’Connell (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht).

Replacements:

16. Rían Handley (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster), 17. Christian Foley (Young Munster RFC/ Munster), 18. Blake McClean (Instonians RFC/Ulster), 19. Ben Blaney (Terenure College RFC/Leinster), 20. Billy Hayes (Garryowen FC/Munster), 21. James O’Dwyer (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), 22. Charlie O’Shea (UCC RFC/Munster), 23. Johnny O’Sullivan (Dublin University FC/Leinster).

LiveScores Now Available at IrishScores.com

USA’s Ilia Malinin, the red-hot favourite for men’s figure skating gold at Milan-Cortina 2026, falls twice as he misses out on a podium finish to give Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan the gold medal.

READ MORE: Shaidorov wins gold as ‘Quad God’ Malinin crumbles

Available to UK users only

Figure skating’s self-styled ‘Quad God’ fell to earth on Friday as Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov came from nowhere to claim gold in a dramatic finish to the men’s singles competition in Milan.

All-conquering Ilia Malinin headed into the free skate with a five-point lead over his rivals and audacious plans to make history by becoming the first skater to land seven quad jumps.

Instead Malinin, unbeaten in all competitions for over two years, fulfilled just three – falling on two more – as he plummeted out of medal contention to finish in eighth place.

“I blew it,” the emotional American told NBC.

As the 21-year-old Malinin left the ice in tears, Shaidorov, who started the night in fifth place, over 15 points behind his rival and a 100-1 shot to make up the difference, looked shell-shocked to become Olympic champion.

Earlier, Malinin’s rivals had done all they could to aid his coronation. Starting the free skate in third place, Adam Siao Him Fa fell twice to also slide down the standings, while Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama clung onto silver place despite two falls.

Malinin took to the ice with the gold at his mercy, but his routine quickly unravelled.

His quad axel – a jump only he has mastered – became a single, his quad loop a double and he fell on both his lutz and salchow.

It was a shocking end to the Olympic cycle for Malinin, who had failed to make the 2022 Olympic team when compatriot Nathan Chen made history by landing five quads in his winning routine to Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’.

These days, five quads were supposedly the preserve of an also-ran. They were landed by Shaidorov, who then sat and watched his rivals falter in front of him. Shun Sato leaped from ninth place to take bronze medal on a night to remember.

One of the annual highlights of NBA All-Star Weekend features the league’s best marksmen competing from beyond the arc, and the 2026 NBA 3-Point Contest will take place on Saturday. The NBA 3-Point Contest field features two past winners in Devin Booker and two-time champion Damian Lillard, as well as All-Stars Donovan Mitchell, Tyrese Maxey, Jamal Murray and Norman Powell. Veteran Bobby Portis and rookie Kon Knueppel round out the field. The event takes place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles during NBA All-Star Saturday Night, which has a start time of 5 p.m. ET.

Knueppel (+250) and Lillard (+480) are the top-two favorites, per the latest 2026 3-Point Contest odds from FanDuel Sportsbook, with Booker at +600. Maxey and Murray are both at +650 to utilize in NBA bets, followed by Mitchell (+750). You can potentially find value at the bottom of the NBA odds board in Powell (+950), a former LA Clipper who is familiar with the Intuit Dome rims and in Portis (+1500) who leads the field in 3-point percentage. Before making any 2026 NBA 3-Point Contest picks, be sure to check out the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend predictions from SportsLine expert Mike Barner.

New users can target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $300 in bonus bets if your first $5+ bet wins:

Barner is one of the most respected voices in the industry, and his work has appeared in Sports Illustrated and on Yahoo, RotoWire and KFFL. He’s also been featured on ESPN Radio. He digs deep into the data, examining team trends and projecting game outcomes. If there’s anybody who can spot an edge in a matchup or identify a player in position to break out, it’s him.

Barner’s expertise has been on full display lately as he enters the All-Star break on a 40-17 run on NBA picks (+2014). He is coming off a dominant 2024-25 NBA season, finishing 239-178-2 and returning $3,209 to $100 bettors. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.

Now, he has analyzed the 2026 NBA 3-Point Contest lineups from all angles and just locked in his coveted pick and predictions. He is only sharing his NBA picks and analysis at SportsLine.

Top 2026 NBA 3-Point Contest predictions

Barner is fading Damian Lillard (+480), despite him being one of the favorites and a two-time winner of this event (2023, 2024). Lillard has not played this season as he recovers from a torn Achilles, which poses two issues. One is that his movement around the ball racks may be a bit limited compared to his prior contest appearances. Another is that he will likely lack rhythm having not played a competitive game in nearly 10 months.

While Lillard has played just one game at the Intuit Dome, which came last season, it’s worth noting his 3-point shooting in that contest. He went 1 for 9 from beyond the arc for an 11.1% rate. Among his 50 games last season with at least 7 attempts from downtown, that 1 for 9 performance was his worst all year. Thus, Barner doesn’t see Lillard joining Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only three-time winners of the NBA 3-Point Contest. See more predictions at SportsLine.

New users can check out the latest Kalshi promo code CBSSPORTS to get a $10 cash bonus after making $10 in trades:

How to make 2026 NBA 3-Point Contest picks

Barner has studied the NBA 3-Point Contest from every angle and predicts the winner will “make history” with his performance. See who it is over at SportsLine.

Who wins the NBA 3-Point Contest 2026, and who is poised to have a historic performance? Visit SportsLine now to get Mike Barner’s pick for the NBA Three-Point Contest 2026, all from the expert who has crushed his NBA picks, and find out.

2026 NBA 3-Point Contest odds, field

See picks at SportsLine.

3-Point Contest odds (via FanDuel)
Kon Knueppel +250
Damian Lillard +480
Devin Booker +600
Jamal Murray +650
Tyrese Maxey +650
Donovan Mitchell +750
Norman Powell +950
Bobby Portis +1500