Fudd rare rookie named to WNBA 3-point contest
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- Azzi Fudd (Dallas, No. 1 draft pick) will compete in her first professional 3-point contest on Friday at WNBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago, becoming just the fourth rookie in WNBA history invited to the event.
- No rookie has ever won the contest; Rhyne Howard (2022) was the only one to reach the final round — and Howard returns this year as one of two prior contestants, alongside Toronto's Marina Mabrey.
- Marina Mabrey leads all six participants and the entire league with 82 made 3-pointers this season, and earlier this year tied the WNBA single-game scoring record with 53 points, hitting nine 3s in that game.
- Reigning 3-point champion Sabrina Ionescu, Caitlin Clark, and Kayla McBride were all invited but declined, according to ESPN's Alexa Philippou.
- The rest of the field rounds out with Portland's Bridget Carleton (65 made 3s, sixth-most in the league), Seattle's Natisha Hiedeman (57, seventh), and Golden State's Janelle Salaun (67, fifth); Fudd sits 10th with 50 — and all six rank in the top 11 for 3s made per game.
- The contest uses two timed rounds with five racks of five balls — four worth one point and one "money ball" worth two — plus "from the logo" pedestals worth three points each, with the top two first-round scorers advancing.
Why it matters: Fudd's invite is a milestone for the No. 1 pick, but the historical pattern is the real story: zero rookies have ever won the 3-point contest, and she enters a stacked field led by Mabrey, who paces the entire league in 3s made (82) and earlier tied the single-game scoring record with 53 points — making her the clear favorite at 8 p.m. ET Friday.
