NEW YORK (AFP) — Portland's Damian Lillard, who has not played all season while recovering from a torn left Achilles tendon, will return in next weekend's National Basketball Association (NBA) Three-Point Contest, the league announced on Sunday.

The 35-year-old guard, a nine-time All-Star, was injured in last year's playoffs while with Milwaukee, then waived by the Bucks and signed by the Trail Blazers, whom he played for in his first 11 NBA campaigns.

Lillard, who ranks fifth on the all-time NBA list with 2,804 three-point baskets, won the 2023 and 2024 Three-Point Contests and can match the record three titles of the legendary Larry Bird, as well as Craig Hodges, with a victory next Saturday in Los Angeles.

The competition will be part of All-Star Saturday festivities, which include the Slam Dunk Contest and Shooting Stars events ahead of next Sunday's NBA All-Star Game.

Also in the eight-shooter field will be Phoenix's Devin Booker, the 2018 Three-Point Contest winner, and four other 2026 NBA All-Stars — Philadelphia's Tyrese Maxey, Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell, Denver's Jamal Murray and Miami's Norman Powell.

Charlotte's Kon Knueppel could become the first NBA rookie to win the event. He is joined by fellow Three-Point Contest newcomers Maxey, Murray and Bobby Portis Jr. of Milwaukee.

Players have 70 seconds to shoot from beyond the arc in the first round with the three top scorers advancing to the final round, where the highest score decides the champion.