Sabrina Ionescu to headline 3-point contest and revamped Skills Challenge at WNBA's All-Star weekend
Sabrina Ionescu will be busy at All-Star weekend.
The WNBA announced on Thursday that the New York Liberty All-Star guard will participate in the 3-point contest. She'll also defend her 2022 title in a new rendition of the Skills Challenge in addition to playing in the All-Star game.
Ionescu will be joined in the 3-point contest by Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young, Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington, Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell, Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale and Seattle Storm guard Sami Whitcomb. Young leads the league with a 48.5% success rate from 3-point distance.
The 3-point contest and Skills challenge will take place on July 14 at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas starting at 4 p.m. ET. The All-Star game is scheduled for July 15.
The WNBA announced a new format for this year's Skills Challenge on Tuesday. Four pairs of All-Star teammates will compete head-to-head on a timed obstacle course that will test skills such as dribbling, passing and agility.
Teams will complete the course one at a time, with both players from each team participating in a relay. The first player must complete the course as follows:
25-foot chest pass at a target from the baseline, complete the pass to continue or max out on three attempts
Dribble downcourt through four pylons, including a car
Make a short shot in the lane to move on, or continue the course after three attempts
Make a left corner 3-point shot, or continue the course after three attempts
Dribble to opposite goal and make any basket — dunk, layup, jump shot, etc.
The second player will begin the course after rebounding the shot from the first player or receiving a pass from the first player. The second player will complete the course in the same order. She will then dribble to the opposite side of the court and must make a 3-point shot from the top of the arc.
The order of the first round will be determined by the WNBA, and the two teams with the fastest times will advance to the final round where they will then complete the course again. If there is a tie in either round, the tied teams will complete the course again.
Here are the rosters for this year's Skills Challenge:
Team Aces (Las Vegas)
Chelsea Gray, Guard
Kelsey Plum, Guard
Team Dream (Atlanta)
Allisha Gray, Guard
Cheyenne Parker, Forward
Team Liberty (New York)
Sabrina Ionescu, Guard
Courtney Vandersloot, Guard
Team Wings (Dallas)
Arike Ogunbowale, Guard
Satou Sabally, Forward
Injury replacements for WNBA All-Star Game
Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard will replace seven-time All-Star Elena Delle Donne on Team Wilson in Sunday's All-Star Game. This is Howard's second All-Star nod, and the former No. 1 overall pick currently ranks 10th in scoring within the WNBA.
