Zach LaVine: Career-best NBA season crowned with All-Star debut

The game will be played in Atlanta on 7 March

Chicago Bulls player Zach LaVine (Getty Images)

Zach LaVine’s best-ever season has been rewarded with a first-time All-Star selection.

Back in college, LaVine played for the UCLA Bruins where he was one of the top freshmen in the Pac-12 Conference.

He was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 13th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

As a rookie with Minnesota, LaVine won the league’s Slam Dunk contest and in 2016, became the fourth NBA player to ever win consecutive dunk contests.

In 2017, he was traded to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Jimmy Butler and the rights to Justin Patton.

The 25-year-old has enjoyed a fine season for the Bulls and is averaging career highs in scoring (28.7 points per game), assists (5.1 per game), field goal percentage (.525) and a spike in his three-point shooting percentage, up to .435, compared to his career average of .384, per Basketball Reference.

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LaVine made his first All-Star selection this year and is the first Bulls player selected since Jimmy Butler in 2017, entering in as a reserve.

At 6ft 5in and 200lbs, LaVine will also be featuring in the 3-Point Contest alongside Stephen Curry, where his career-high 3.5 three-pointers per game will be put to the test against arguably the greatest shooter of all time. LaVine has made the fifth most three-pointers in the NBA this season (120), with Curry out in front on 169 and Damian Lillard second with 138.

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The game will be played in Atlanta on 7 March.