Reigning champion Sabrina Ionescu revealed the shocking reason she will not be defending her title at this week’s WNBA All-Star three-point contest.
The three-point contest will take place on Friday as part of the WNBA’s 2026 All-Star weekend in Chicago.
A host of the league’s stars, including rookie and No. 1 overall draft pick Azzi Fudd, will be participating.
However, some of the WNBA’s biggest names are notably absent from the list of expected competitors – and they are furious about it.
While Caitlin Clark reportedly once again declined the invitation, others, including Ionescu, never even received one.
New York Liberty star Ionescu hit back at reports that she declined to compete in this year’s contest, taking a sly dig at the league as she did so.
Sabrina Ionescu revealed that the WNBA did not invite her to the All-Star three-point contest
The New York Liberty star will not be defending her title in this year’s contest in Chicago
‘I can’t decline an offer I never got officially invited to. So, was pretty surprised to see that. Never got invited,’ the defending three-point contest champion told reporters before the Liberty’s game against the Chicago Sky on Wednesday.
‘Whether it’s against Steph Curry or in the W, I always go out and try and beat my record, every single time I’ve gone out,’ continued Ionescu.
‘I just kind of wanted to set the record straight. Like that was just false, but I’m really excited for the participants in it, and obviously there’s going to be a new winner. So, I’m excited to see who wins.’
The guard has won the three-point contest twice, including last year, highlighted by her record-setting 37-point performance in 2023.
It had also been claimed that Kayla McBride was another high-profile star who had snubbed an invitation to the contest.
However, the Minnesota Lynx star also railed against those accusations on Wednesday evening, furiously hitting out in a social media post.
The guard claimed that she had received a ‘half-a**’ invitation via her agent just days before the contest was slated to take place. She insisted that she did ‘not officially’ receive an offer.
‘So posting things like I’m afraid of shooting smoke is weird and if you didn’t hear it from me prob shouldn’t believe it,’ she added in the statement shared to her Instagram story.
Caitlin Clark will also not particpate after reportedly declining an invitation
Minnesota Lynx star Kayla McBride hit out at ckaims that she had snubbed an invite
She continued: ‘We should focus on the great shooters in it already!!! Because there’s some killas in there. Good luck to all those participating and when y’all start doing shooting contests coming off pin downs hit me.’
The confirmed list of three-point contest participants includes Dallas’s Fudd, Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard, Golden State’s Janelle Salaun, Portland’s Bridget Carleton, Toronto’s Marina Mabrey and Seattle’s Natisha Hiedeman.
Mabrey and Howard are the only ones among the pack who have prior experience of participating in the contest.
Fudd is just the fourth rookie in WNBA history to compete in the shootout, joining Kelsey Mitchell (2018), Howard (2022) and Sonia Citron (2025). No rookie has won the contest.
