Clark and Ionescu skip WNBA 3-point contest after invitations
ESPN reported Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu and Kayla McBride declined invitations, leaving a six-player field for All-Star Friday Night in Chicago.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
3 min read
Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu and Kayla McBride were all asked to join the 2026 WNBA 3-point contest and turned it down, according to ESPN.
That leaves the league’s All-Star Friday Night showcase without three of its biggest long-range names. Clark is the sport’s headline act and built her rise on deep shooting. Ionescu is the two-time contest winner, the defending champion and the owner of the top score in the event’s history, across either the WNBA or NBA, with 37 points. McBride is the active WNBA leader in made 3-pointers with 793, according to CBS Sports.
The event will still have a full field at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The contest is expanding to six players for the first time since 2023, CBS Sports reported.
The six-player field
- Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 overall pick
- Marina Mabrey
- Rhyne Howard
- Bridget Carleton
- Janelle Salaun
- Natisha Hiedeman
Mabrey arrives with some serious receipts. CBS Sports reported she has tied the WNBA single-game records for points, with 53, and 3-pointers, with nine, this season.
Mabrey and Howard have been in the contest before, though neither has won it. Fudd, Carleton, Salaun and Hiedeman are all set for their first appearances in the event, according to CBS Sports.
The absences have quickly become the main talking point around a contest that has produced some of the league’s best All-Star Weekend memories. Allie Quigley won the event for a record fourth time in Chicago in 2022. A year later, Ionescu made 25 of 27 shots, including 20 in a row, during her 37-point run, CBS Sports noted.
CBS Sports writer Jack Maloney argued that the players’ decisions could dent the event’s future, comparing the situation to long-running criticism of LeBron James for never entering the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Maloney wrote that the dunk contest’s decline has often been linked, at least in part, to the absence of the sport’s biggest name.
There are practical factors around the decisions, according to CBS Sports. All-Star Weekend now comes with a packed schedule of appearances for top players, sponsors and fans. Clark and Ionescu have also been dealing with injuries, while McBride was not selected as an All-Star reserve and may not be in Chicago, CBS Sports reported.
Clark has now passed on the WNBA 3-point contest more than once. CBS Sports reported she declined as a rookie, missed last year’s event in Indianapolis because of injury and declined again this year. Attempts to include her in a two-on-two version of the Stephen Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu shooting challenge at NBA All-Star Weekend also did not come together, according to CBS Sports.
The WNBA still has shooters with pedigree and a larger field than recent editions. The bigger question, raised by CBS Sports, is whether its signature shooting event can keep growing if the most recognizable snipers keep staying away.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS Sports.