There is a first time for everything – and Friday night at Wintrust Arena would be an evening of a historic first for the WNBA.
The first would occur in the 3-Point Contest. This year’s finals would feature the Dallas Wings’ Azzi Fudd and the Portland Fire’s Bridget Carleton. Carleton had the best score of anyone in the first round, but Fudd got the better of Carleton when it mattered most to claim this year’s 3-Point Contest championship.
Fudd became the first rookie to ever win a 3-Point Contest. She also became the first UConn Husky to do so as well. She also tied Sabrina Ionescu for the second-most points scored in a single round. The record holder is Ionescu herself.
The 3-Point Contest initially was part of the part of the festivities for WNBA All-Star from 2006 to 2010 but was added back in 2017 when that year’s All-Star Game was in Seattle. At one point, it actually took place at halftime of the game itself instead of on All-Star Friday.
This year’s six participants included Fudd, Carleton, Marina Mabrey (Toronto Tempo), Janelle Salaün (Golden State Valkyries), Natisha Hiedeman (Seattle Storm) and Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream). Up first was Hiedeman who posted an opening round score of 17.
Carleton then applied major pressure on her competition with her opening round tally of 29. Fudd was not fazed as she would follow what Carleton did with 24 points of her own.
Following Fudd in the first round was Salaün. She put up an impressive effort but her 19 points was not enough against either Carleton or Fudd. Mabrey – who is known far and wide for 3-pointers – attempted as well, but she only concluded with 18 points. That would guarantee a berth in the 3-Point Contest championship for Carleton.
Last, but certainly not least, was Howard who also got up to 20 points – but not the 24 she needed to oust Fudd. This would guarantee that the championship would be between Fudd and Carleton.
That claim to being the first-ever rookie to win a 3-Point Contest championship was well within Fudd’s grasp when she put up a crooked number of 30 on the Wintrust Arena scoreboard. Carleton tried but her 19 points would be well shy of Fudd’s number.
Prior to the 3-Point Contest taking place, All-Star Friday night at Wintrust Arena could commence with the Shooting Stars as opposed to the more typical Skills Challenge WNBA fans are more familiar with.
There were four teams – and each one included a current player, a WNBA legend and a rising star from the AAU ranks. This was very fitting considering the Nike Nationals also took place in Chicago at the same time as All-Star.
There was a Team Minnesota, a Team Dallas/Detroit, a Team Seattle and a Team Washington. Team Minnesota included Courtney Williams, Rebekkah Brunson and Ryan Carter of Exodus NYC. Team Dallas/Detroit was Deanna “Tweety” Nolan, Jessica Shepard and AEBL’s Morgan Reckley. Team Seattle featured Flau’jae Johnson, Lauren Jackson and Tatianna Griffin of Cal Swish. Team Washington included Shakira Austin, Elena Delle Donne and Jezelle “GG” Banks of Team Durant – and also from Delaware as Delle Donne is.
Up first was Team Washington and it wasted no time establishing that it was the team to beat in this year’s Shooting Stars competition. With the highlight moments being several long-range shots from Banks, Team Washington posted a 35 in the first round of Shooting Stars.
She carried.
–Shakira Austin on Banks
At this point, it was unlikely that the other three teams would surpass Team Washington. The objective had to be to earn second place and get to the championship round. Up second was Team Dallas/Detroit which finished with 20 points.
Team Minnesota managed a 19-point effort. All that was left was Team Seattle and with a 26-point performance, Team Seattle earned a berth into the championship round.
Because Team Seattle had a lower score than Team Washington, it would go first in the championship round. Team Seattle did almost as good as it did in the first round with 24 points. It would be a tough act to follow but the Austin-Delle Donne-Banks trio that is Team Washington was up to the task. With 31 points, Team Washington would depart from Wintrust Arena as 2026 Shooting Stars champions.
