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The participants for the 2026 WNBA All-Star Three-point Contest were revealed on Tuesday, and women's basketball fans were quick to notice that two of the league's best and most popular shooters, Caitlin Clark and Sabrina Ionescu, were not among those competing in the event.
Soon after this news broke, Annie Costabile of The Athletic reported that both Clark and Ionescu were invited to participate but declined, as did Minnesota Lynx sharpshooter Kayla McBride.
However, Ionescu made it clear that this was inaccurate. The @brwsports Instagram account made a post on Tuesday featuring a graphic of Clark and Ionescu that referred to what Costabile reported about them declining the three-point contest invite.
"Lies," Ionescu commented on the post, which has since been deleted. Despite the graphic being deleted, many social media accounts have posted screenshots of what Ionescu commented.
Sabrina Ionescu, Caitlin Clark Missing Three-Point Contest Is a Disappointment
It's hard to imagine why Ionescu would dispute this report if it were accurate, as there's no reason for her to lie about declining the three-point contest invite.
Regardless, the bottom line is that the contest is worse off without both Ionescu and Clark competing. While the field of shooters is impressive and includes several stars, Clark and Ionescu would have brought many more eyeballs.
Especially because perhaps the biggest moment in Ionescu's career is when she set the record for the most 3-pointers made in a three-point challenge in both the NBA and the WNBA in 2023, when she tallied 37 out of the 40 possible points.
Ionescu also won the 2025 WNBA All-Star three-point contest and went up against Golden State Warriors legend Steph Curry during NBA All-Star Weekend in 2024.
In other words, three-point contests are Ionescu's claim to fame, and any time she isn't taking part in the contest is a net negative for women's basketball fans. This is especially the case if she didn't even receive an invite, as she seems to have suggested.
Granted, Ionescu's stats this season aren't great, as her 13.8 points per game are down from 18.2 points per game last season, and her 28.7% three-point percentage is the lowest in her career to this point.
But she missed the early portion of the season and has been improving as the year has progressed. She's still an elite shooter, and this upcoming WNBA All-Star three-point contest could've been the perfect reminder of that.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/womens-fastbreak as Sabrina Ionescu Calls Out 'Lies' About Declining WNBA All-Star Contest Invite.
