Where's the stiffest competition in the WNBA? Half-court shot contests after practices

New York Times

4 hours ago

Aliyah Boston called her shot.
Not a shot of Ruthian significance, in that there was no championship trophy hanging in the balance, but a shot that still came with loads of bragging rights inside the Indiana Fever organization.
As Boston approached midcourt at the end of the Fever's practice late last month, preparing to take that afternoon's half-court shot, she voiced a proclamation: 'It's my day today.'
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She stopped at the center circle. Mimicked her follow-through and fired away. She sank her attempt, leapt six times with childlike enthusiasm, then curtsied before nonchalantly walking away. 'Carry on,' she told her teammates.
All around the WNBA, teams finish shootarounds similarly. As a last act of preparation to close shootarounds — or practice on the day before a game, if day-of shootaround is cancelled — franchises routinely hold a half-court shooting competition. No league-wide custom consistently brings out as much team levity, with clips of contests (and their ensuing celebrations) shared on social media nearly daily.
'The half-court shot is just a WNBA tradition at this point,' Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally said. 'It's just fun, like a little icebreaker.'
There are house rules. For some teams, it's a one-round competition; miss and you're out. Other teams might give players multiple chances, but only to those who hit the rim. Shooting order varies by team as does player form, however, everyone does it for the same reasons: It brings out competition and camaraderie, with a little cash — almost always $100 — at stake.
Pure comedy 😂 It gets real competitive when it comes to the halfcourt shot contest 🎯 pic.twitter.com/jXrIhJCMiJ
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) July 5, 2025
'Our group really gets excited about it,' Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts said. 'They like to talk s— to each other.'
When first-year Los Angeles Sparks coach Lynne Roberts took the job after a decade at the University of Utah, she was unaware that she would have to ante up $100 before every game. But it didn't take long for players to inform Roberts of the league-wide ritual.
'(The players) let me know real early it was not negotiable,' she said.
It was fitting. The tradition dates to at least one of Roberts' predecessors in Los Angeles. Though the half-court shooting contests' exact origins are unknown, WNBA veterans frequently link the tradition to two former WNBA coaches who once played in the NBA: Michael Cooper, who was a WNBA head coach for a dozen years, beginning with the Sparks in 2000, and Bill Laimbeer, who coached the first of his 15 WNBA seasons in 2002. Cooper was part of the earliest reported mentions of the WNBA tradition. At the '02 All-Star Game, he handed a $100 bill to Lauren Jackson as the future three-time WNBA MVP won the half-court competition at that year's showcase.
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When Becky Hammon played guard for the Liberty in the early 2000s, Indiana Pacers star-turned-broadcaster Reggie Miller would come to New York shootarounds as part of his telecast prep. He would often challenge Hammon to one-on-one half-court shooting contests. Hammon said sometimes as much as $800 was on the line. 'I used to take all his money,' she said recently.
But now, Hammon, the Aces coach since 2022, is the one who is paying out of pocket. Coaches are almost always the ones who ante up the money.
'It starts to get expensive,' she said.
It is a small price to pay to spark these moments of joy.
Since 2002, WNBA revenue has ballooned and the maximum player salary has increased from around $80,000 to around $250,000. But the standard half-court cash award has remained more modest. Yet there are outliers.
Cierra Burdick, who played for six teams from 2015 to 2021, recalled winning a half-court contest in the WNBA's 2020 bubble season in which the Aces' MGM ownership put up $1,000 to whoever sank that day's shot. 'It made my entire week, probably even my entire month,' she said. Burdick's winnings helped finance a week-long family trip to North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Other traditions have developed about how to handle winning. The Chicago Sky's Bec Allen immediately tucks her winnings under her compression shorts whenever she wins from midcourt. She then puts her money toward meals as Chicago's pot multiplies, according to the number of consecutive victories the team has recorded. Sparks guard Julie Allemand deposits her winnings in her bank account. Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu has a stack of cash that builds in her locker. It's as good a reminder of her shooting prowess as is the 3-point contest trophy she just took home from All-Star weekend.
The competition has spread globally as well. Ionescu's coach, Sandy Brondello, also coaches the Australian national team and finishes Opals shootaround with a half-court contest. Former Washington Mystics coach Mike Thibault brought the routine to the Belgian national team this summer during the country's EuroBasket title-winning run.
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But as women's basketball half-court shootouts have expanded, one WNBA franchise veered away from the ritual. First-year Atlanta Dream coach Karl Smesko created a new game to end shootarounds. One-hundred dollars is still on the line. But 'Cash Out or Crash Out' requires players to shoot 3-pointers from five spots around the arc. Miss one and you're eliminated. Make all five and win. (In the case of multiple players going 5 of 5, players have the option to split the winnings or keep playing until there's a winner.)
Prize pot got split 5 ways today! 🤑#DoItForTheDream pic.twitter.com/CPvFzo4nsM
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) June 6, 2025
'It's great and really translates to the game,' Dream forward Naz Hillmon said.
In truth, the competition isn't about directly preparing for games. That comes earlier in shootaround. It can be about the banter and bragging that comes with victories, just as Tibbetts said.
When Fever star guard Caitlin Clark notched a rare contest victory in mid-June, she took off her practice jersey, a la a soccer star scoring a game-winning goal, and started twirling it overhead as she ran out of the gym. Teammates booed as she exited. Clark isn't among Indiana's top shooters from midcourt, though, so when she does nail a shot, her teammates hear about it.
'I hate when Caitlin makes it because she just gloats about it way too much for me,' Indiana guard Lexie Hull said.
CC locked in 🔒
Caitlin Clark wins the halfcourt shot contest after practice today. pic.twitter.com/Ok948G7T1B
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) June 13, 2025
Seattle Storm guard Skylar Diggins has implemented a mandatory team rule: to claim the day's winnings, the player must first dance. But no Storm player has had to break out a move more than Diggins, who is Seattle's top midcourt shooter.
Unlike Diggins, the tradition often humbles some of the game's biggest stars. Diggins' teammate, Nneka Ogwumike, doesn't even participate in Seattle's post-practice contests because Ogwumike is not confident in her form. And while Aces star A'ja Wilson is elite at almost everything on the court, the three-time MVP is Las Vegas' worst half-court shooter.
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'By a lot,' Hammon said.
'I suck at it,' Wilson confirmed.
A'nd that's on period 🤑💅
It's @_ajawilson22's celly for us 😂
Shoot Your Shot presented by Southern Nevada @Buick Dealers#ALLINLV pic.twitter.com/pYHNzok0ql
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) July 8, 2025
But that made it all the sweeter when Wilson notched her first half-court shootout competition victory of the season in early July.
When Wilson sank her shot before facing the Liberty, she immediately dropped to the floor and started posing, encouraging Las Vegas' social media team to capture the moment. (It did.)
Once Hammon handed Wilson her $100 bill, Wilson crisped it and smelled her winnings.
'That's my one for the year,' she said.
(Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; Photos of Skylar Diggins, Aliyah Boston, Sabrina Ionescu and Caitlin Clark: A.J. Mast / NBAE via Getty Images, Ethan Miller / Getty Images, Matthew Huang / Icon Sportswire via AP Images)
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