2025 WNBA All-Star 3-Point Contest: Format and rules explained

The 2025 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game, which brings together the league’s big name players, takes place this weekend and as a prelude, there will be other attractions for fans to enjoy at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Among them, the 3-Point Contest - a series of rounds in which players compete against each other to sink the most three-point shots from various spots around the arc within a set time limit.

The contest usually features five of the league’s top three-point shooters. These players are selected based on their performance during the regular season, focusing on their three-point shooting percentage and overall impact from beyond the perimeter line.

Which players will be taking part in the 2025 WNBA All-Star 3-Point Contest?

This year’s contest will be particularly intriguing as it will feature the winners of the last two editions - Allisha Gray and Sabrina Ionescu, b ut unfortunately Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark will not be taking part in the event due to injury.

Clark finished the 2024 regular season with a percentage of 34.4% from the field - 122 from 355. This season, she is down slightly - 29 from 104, and her current percentage figures are behind three of the competitors she will be up against on Friday evening.

Last year’s winner Allisha Gray has a 38.9% success rate from beyond the perimeter this season - the Atlanta Dream guard sits fifth in the WNBA 3-point ranking for 2025, which is topped by her team mate Rhyne Howard and Minnesota’s Kayla McBride - neither of whom will be involved in the All Star contest.

But two other players in the top five will - Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum has posted 53 from 148 (35.8%) and 2023 winner Sabrina Ionescu, with 47 from 152 (30.9%) this season with New York Liberty.

Sonia Citron was selected third overall by the Washington Mystics in this year’s draft and will be attempting to become the first player from the franchise to clinch the title since Laurie Koehn in 2007.

She is currently in sizzling form with 35 three-point shots from 96 attempts, giving her a very respectable percentage of 36.5%.

All-Star 3-Point Contest format

The 3-Point Contest features a series of rounds where players compete to make the most three-point shots from various spots around the arc within a set time limit. Here’s a breakdown of how the contest is structured:

Participants: The contest typically features four to eight of the league’s top three-point shooters, but in recent years, the competition has featured five players. These players are selected based on their performance in the regular season, focusing on their three-point shooting percentage and overall impact from beyond the arc.

First Round: All participants compete in the first round. Each player gets one attempt to score as many points as possible.

Final Round: The top two or three scorers from the first round advance to the final round. The player with the highest score in the final round is crowned the champion.

Scoring rules

The court is set up with five shooting locations around the three-point arc, two spots on each wing and one spot at the top of the key. Each location has a rack containing five basketballs.

Each rack contains four standard basketballs, worth one point each. The fifth ball in each rack, known as the “money ball”, is worth two points. In addition to the standard racks, each player has a special “money ball rack” which they can choose to place at any of the five locations. This rack contains five money balls, each worth two points.

Each player has 60 seconds to shoot all the balls. Players must move quickly and efficiently from one rack to the next to maximize their score.

In the event of a tie for the highest score in either round, a 30-second tiebreaker round is held. Players shoot from the same five spots, with the same point system, but with only 30 seconds on the clock.

Players must shoot from behind the three-point line. Stepping on or over the line results in the shot not counting. The clock starts when the player begins their first shot. It’s crucial for players to manage their time effectively to ensure they attempt all their shots within the 60-second window.

When is the WNBA 3-Point Contest?

The 2025 WNBA 3-Point Contest is scheduled to take place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Friday July 18, with the evening’s program due to start at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.

The event, along with the WNBA Skills Challenge, will be broadcast live on ESPN.

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