Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu won’t compete in 3-point WNBA contest

This year’s WNBA 3-point contest will have two notable exceptions.

Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark and Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu, who won last year’s trey competition, won’t be among those in this year’s contest, the league announced Wednesday night.

The Liberty’s Jonquel Jones, however, will be playing in the event along with Sophie Cunningham (Phoenix Mercury), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury), Marina Mabrey (Connecticut Sun) and Erica Wheeler (Indiana Fever).

Clark, who made her first WNBA All-Star team in her freshman campaign, has hit 71 trey balls, good for third-most in the league this year.

“My focus is on this game tonight and then we’ll turn to All-Star then after that,” Clark told reporters, according to The Athletic, before her Fever’s 101-93 loss to the Dallas Wings on Wednesday night’s in which she set the WNBA single-game record with 19 assists.

Clark, who will play for Team WNBA against Team USA on July 20, ranks 37th in the league in 3-point percentage (32.7).

It’s already been an impressive year for Clark, who now holds the Fever’s single-season franchise record with 213 assists while also becoming the fastest player ever to record 400 points and 200 assists in the same season, accomplishing the feat in a mere 26 games.

Ionsecu, second in the league with 74 3-pointers this year, scored a professional — NBA or WNBA — record with 37 points in the final round of last year’s 3-point competition in Las Vegas.

At the 2023-24 NBA All-Star weekend, Ionescu agreed to take on Warriors icon Steph Curry in a 3-point contest of their own, with the Liberty star barely falling short, 29-26.

Jones, the Liberty representative in the contest, has nailed 39.6 percent of her shots from deep this season.

She previously was the runner-up in the 2021 3-point shooting contest.

The 3-point contest and skills challenge will take place on July 19, while the All-Star Game will take place the following day at at Footprint Center in Phoenix.