Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu actually declined WNBA 3-point contest invites

Caitlin Clark looks forward to rest during WNBA’s monthlong hiatus for the Paris Games.

The WNBA confirmed that Caitlin Clark and Sabrina Ionescu declined invitations to participate in the 3-point contest during the league’s All-Star weekend. According to the league, both players opted out of the event, citing their respective commitments and personal reasons.

Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner and New York Liberty’s Jonquel Jones are among the notable names participating in the WNBA’s special competitions on Friday as part of the All-Star weekend. The WNBA also announced that Cheryl Miller, the Phoenix Mercury’s first coach and general manager, will coach the WNBA All-Stars on Saturday. The national team will be led by Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve.

The Skills Challenge and 3-point Contest will feature several key players, although it will be missing some of the league’s most popular athletes, including Clark and Ionescu. Both Clark and Ionescu turned down invitations to participate in the 3-point contest, per Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press. Ionescu will be taking part in the Olympic camp ahead of the Paris Games.

The Skills Challenge will include Griner, her teammate Sophie Cunningham, Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray, Connecticut Sun’s Marina Mabrey and Indiana Fever’s Erica Wheeler. The 3-point Contest will feature Jonquel Jones, Allisha Gray, Marina Mabrey, Washington Mystics’ Stefanie Dolson and Minnesota Lynx’s Kayla McBride. Griner is the only member of the U.S. Olympic Team who will participate in either competition.

The Skills Challenge is scheduled for Friday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN, and the All-Star game against the U.S. Olympic team will take place on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Caitlin Clark looking forward to rest during WNBA’s Olympic break

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Clark looks forward to taking some time off during the WNBA’s monthlong hiatus for the Paris Games. Despite setting a WNBA record with 19 assists in the Fever’s final game vs. the Wings Wednesday before the break, Clark expressed her need for rest after a rigorous year of non-stop basketball.

“I feel like I’ve been nonstop go since, like, probably September of last year,” Clark said before her milestone performance, as reported by Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press.

Following her second consecutive trip to the national championship game with Iowa in April, Clark was the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft. Her professional debut and the subsequent season have been packed with intense competition and high expectations.

Clark will participate in the All-Star game against the U.S. women’s Olympic team in Phoenix on Saturday night. After the game, she plans to take about a week off before the Fever resume their activities in preparation for the post-Olympic break. Indiana’s first game back is scheduled for Aug. 16 at home against the Mercury.

“I think it’ll be really good for myself and my body,” Clark said. “You’re getting close to a full year of just playing basketball nonstop. So it’ll probably be a little weird for me not playing games. But I think it’s definitely going to be good for my body.”

Clark leads all rookies with an average of 17.1 points per game and leads the entire league with 8.2 assists per game. Over the past nine games, she has averaged 11.9 assists.

“She’s going to get a breather and get some rest. I think it’s just great,” Fever coach Christie Sides said. “She’s just been going so hard for quite some time now. I think it’s going to help her so much just to kind of decompress.”

Since Iowa’s opener last November, Clark has played 65 official games, not including two exhibition matches. The Fever’s rough start to the season, paired with a demanding schedule, added to Clark’s challenges. However, the team has bounced back, going 10-7 after an initial 1-8 record, and is currently in the playoff picture.

“Honestly, I feel pretty good,” Clark said. “I think the beginning of the season was probably the most difficult for me. Just the adjustment of, first of all, playing in this league. And then second of all, the schedule that we had, playing a game, having a day off, playing a game.”