How to watch the WNBA Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest, Friday's All-Star festivities
This broadcast will also be available on ESPN+.
First up is the Skills Challenge. Dribblers will be asked to throw bounce, chest and outlet passes, then shoot from the elbow, corner and top of the arc. This year's field is entirely comprised of WNBA veterans. Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream) is the youngest contestant at age 30; she's up to the highest scoring average of her nine-year run, and won the 2024 edition over finalist Sophie Cunningham.
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Elsewhere, Natasha Cloud (New York Liberty), Erica Wheeler (Seattle Storm) and Courtney Williams (Minnesota Lynx) have all played a full decade in the W, and each guard is enjoying a late-career renaissance with competitive teams. The headliner is Skylar Diggins, the six-time All-WNBA force who leads Seattle in points and assists. All of these Skills Challenge newcomers will be eager to dethrone Gray.
Up next is the 3-Point Contest, a timed and frantic perimeter shoot-around with five racks. Each made trey is worth one point, with a bonus-point 'money ball' at the end of the first four racks. The fifth shooting spot from the far corner is exclusively money balls, and predictably, that's where the competition takes its dramatic swing. There are also two 'Starry balls' from way outside, each worth three points. The two top finishers advance to a second round for a title tilt.
Clark, Indiana's hometown superstar, has endured an injury-ridden second season with the Fever. Sadly, lingering injuries will keep her out of the 3-point showdown. Fans can still marvel at defending champ Gray — the only player competing in both events and the only player in league history to sweep them the same year — plus decorated stars Sabrina Ionescu (Liberty) and Kelsey Plum (Los Angeles Sparks). The field is rounded out by stellar rookie Sonia Citron (Washington Mystics), who is making 36.5 percent of her 3-point attempts on high volume. The 21-year-old Notre Dame product could be a fixture in this format for the next decade or so.
Ionescu won in 2023. Plum (second), Gray (fourth) and Ionescu (fifth) all rank in the top five in made 3s this season.
Natasha Cloud, Liberty
Skylar Diggins, Storm
Allisha Gray, Dream
Erica Wheeler, Storm
Courtney Williams, Lynx
2003 — Dawn Staley
2005 — Sue Bird
2006 — Seimone Augustus
2007 — Becky Hammon
2009 — Cappie Pondexter
2010 — Renee Montgomery
2019 — Diamond DeShields
2022 — Sabrina Ionescu
2023 — Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray
2024 — Allisha Gray
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Sonia Citron, Mystics
Allisha Gray, Dream
Sabrina Ionescu, Liberty
Kelsey Plum, Sparks
Caitlin Clark's replacement TBD
Ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo of Skylar Diggins: Ryan Sirius Sun / Getty Images)
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