There is only one match-up that many basketball fans want to see at the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game: Caitlin Clark vs. Sabrina Ionescu in the 3-point contest. And for the third straight year, the WNBA will have failed to deliver it.
It makes no sense.
Caitlin Clark rose to fame due to her prolific three-point shooting from long range. Sabrina Ionescu is so fun to watch shoot threes that the NBA created a special “Stephen vs. Sabrina” NBA vs. WNBA 3-Point Challenge during the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend.
Clark has been in the WNBA for three years now and hasn’t competed in a single 3-point contest for the league. Yes, she suffered a season-ending injury in 2025 that prohibited her from competing, but there is no excuse for the other two years.
Instead, the 2026 WNBA 3-point contest will see Marina Mabrey, Rhyne Howard, Azzi Fudd, Bridget Carleton, Natisha Hiedeman, and Janelle Salaun participating.
Sabrina Ionescu, who won the contest in the only two years she competed, according to some media reports, declined an invitation to compete this year. Caitlin Clark and Kayla McBride also reportedly declined.
Ionescu emphatically denied the report with a one-word comment on Instagram: “Lies.”
Also missing from the WNBA 3-point contest in 2026 are Monique Akoa Makani, Aliyah Boston, Antonia Delaere, Maddy Siegrist, Sophie Cunningham, A’ja Wilson, Leonie Fiebich, Kelsey Mitchell, Jovana Nogic, and Michaela Onyenwere.
What do they all have in common? They rank 1 through 10 in the WNBA in 3-point shooting percentage.
In fact, none of the participants in this year’s WNBA 3-point contest rank in the top 20 in 3-point shooting percentage. What is the league even doing?