The 3-point contest at this year’s WNBA All-Star festivities won’t feature rookie sensation Caitlin Clark or the event’s reigning champion Sabrina Ionescu.
The WNBA confirmed that both Clark and Ionescu received invitations to participate in the 3-point contest, but declined.
Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray, Jonquel Jones, Marina Mabrey and Kayla McBride will feature in the event, the WNBA announced Wednesday. Brittney Griner, Sophie Cunningham and Erica Wheeler, along with Gray and Mabrey, will participate in the Skills Challenge. Both competitions take place on Friday at Footprint Center in Phoenix.
Ionescu won last year’s contest by hitting 25 of her last 26 shots and totaled 37 points in the final round, the highest score of any 3-point contest in either the men’s or women’s game. She also went up against NBA star Stephen Curry in a first-of-its-kind 3-point competition in February, losing by three points.
The New York Liberty star has totaled 74 3-pointers made this season, the second-most in the league behind McBride of the Minnesota Lynx (76).
Clark is tied for third-most 3-pointers made with Arike Ogunbowale and Kelsey Plum with 71. On Wednesday, she set a new league record for most assists in a single game with 19, adding to her list of WNBA milestones. She is also the fastest player in league history to 400 points and 200 assists, getting there in 26 games compared to 33 for the previous record-holder Sue Bird. Clark has 213 assists, a franchise record for the most in a season.
Clark, the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever in this year’s WNBA Draft, is still slated to make her All-Star debut on Team WNBA, while Ionescu will be in the event for Team USA.
Ionescu was asked about her potential participation Tuesday, and said, “I haven’t decided if I’m doing it, to be honest. I have a lot going on. First off, the one I had at WNBA All-Star, I’m not sure what’s ever going to top that and so that’s just kind of one of those moments in sports where you’re just like I just can’t believe that happened.”
When asked by a reporter Wednesday if the league reached out to her about the competition, Clark said, “I don’t know.”
“My focus is on this game tonight and then we’ll turn to All-Star then after that,” she said ahead of Wednesday’s loss to the Dallas Wings.
Dolson, a Washington Mystics center, leads the league in 3-point percentage this season (48.5 percent). Jones, a Liberty center, is making her third 3-point contest appearance. Her 3-point percentage is 39.6 percent, while Gray’s is 36 percent and Mabrey’s is 34.8 percent.
The 3-point competition consists of two timed rounds with ball racks located at five points around the 3-point arc. Four racks contain four balls worth one point each and one “money” ball worth two points, while the fifth rack is an “all money ball” rack with all balls worth two points. There will also be two balls at deep shot locations worth three points. The two players with the highest scores in the first round advance to the final round.
The 3-point contest will be broadcast on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET.
