WNBA All-Star grades: Liberty's Ionescu, Cloud sweep 3-point, skills challenge crowns

Indianapolis is hosting its archetypal WNBA All-Star Game. But the festivities had a New York spirit Friday night. The Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu won the 3-point shooting contention for the 2nd clip successful 3 years, portion teammate Natasha Cloud took location the skills situation title.

It's the 2nd clip successful WNBA past that players from the aforesaid squad person won some competitions, which person been held astatine each All-Star Game since 2019, but the archetypal clip that has happened with 2 antithetic players. In 2024, Allisha Gray of the Atlanta Dream won some competitions, but she was incapable to successfully support either rubric Friday.

To interruption down each of the enactment Friday successful the skills situation and 3-point contest, ESPN graded each 5 competitors successful some competitions. All-Star Weekend continues Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC) with Team Clark vs. Team Collier.

Jump to: 3-point contest | Skills Challenge

3-point contest

Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty
Grade: A

After sitting retired past year, Ionescu returned to amusement wherefore she and four-time victor Allie Quigley are the lone acceptable answers for the WNBA's 3-point contention GOAT.

For anyone else, Ionescu's people of 25 successful the archetypal circular -- tied for 2nd champion of the nighttime -- would person been a highlight. Ionescu made 13 of her past 16 changeable attempts, including a heavy 3. For Ionescu, that was conscionable a warmup.

In the final, Ionescu missed her archetypal 2 shots and her past three, which led her to accidental she was "pretty disappointed" due to the fact that she "missed a fewer casual ones." Everyone other was amazed by Ionescu making 11 consecutive shots astatine 1 point, including the heavy 3, reminiscent of her grounds people of 37 during the 2023 final.

Ionescu settled for a 30-point round, giving her 2 of the 3 times WNBA players person scored 30-plus successful the 3-point contention since the existent format was adopted successful 2021. Quigley, with a circular of 30 successful the finals, was fittingly the different subordinate to scope that mark.

Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream
Grade: A-

Going past arsenic the defending champ, Gray acceptable up the anticipated showdown of the past 2 winners by making 4 shots and the wealth shot from each of the past 3 racks. That tied Ionescu's people of 25 successful the opening round. Gray got connected a akin rotation from the near helping successful the finals, going 5-for-5 aft making the heavy 3 from that side, but it was already excessively precocious to drawback Ionescu. Gray missed her archetypal 4 shots of the finals and went 0-of-5 from the apical of the key. Gray's people of 22 points successful the finals nevertheless matched the champion circular by anyone but her and Ionescu.

Kelsey Plum, Los Angeles Sparks
Grade: B

The mediate of Plum's circular enactment her successful the aboriginal lead. She made 3 from the apical of the key, the close heavy 3 and 4 of 5 from the close wing. Had Plum made her last shot, worthy 2 points, she would person made things truly absorbing for the 2 finalists. Instead, Plum finished 3rd down the 2 erstwhile champions.

Sonia Citron, Washington Mystics
Grade: B-

The lone rookie successful the tract mightiness person needed to determination her wealth shot rack. Citron made 4 of her high-arching shots from the near helping and each 5 from the apical of the cardinal but went 1-of-5 from the close helping with treble points for each shots. Simply flipping the 2 wings would person fixed Citron a mates much points and pushed her retired of past place. For that spot, Citron's people was much than respectable.

Lexie Hull, Indiana Fever
Grade: B-

The Fever's lone subordinate to vie Friday was a precocious replacement for teammate Caitlin Clark, who had to retreat owed to injury. Early on, it looked similar Hull's changeable -- reliant connected a ample vertical leap -- mightiness not construe to the 3-point contest. She had conscionable 3 points done the archetypal 2 racks earlier making 1 of the heavy 3s. Hull caught occurrence down the stretch, making 8 of her past 10 shots -- including 4 of 5 from the wealth shot rack -- but it wasn't capable to scope the finals.

Skills challenge

Natasha Cloud, New York Liberty
Grade: A

I thought Cloud was retired of the finals aft she needed each 3 attempts connected some 3-point shots, but she managed to contention done the last walk and the hoop for a layup conscionable up of Erica Wheeler's clip of 37.5 seconds. Cloud ended with the night's 2 champion times, displaying a mastery of some accomplishment and the strategy that tin abstracted winners from losers successful the skills challenge.

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Natasha Cloud beats buzzer to triumph WNBA Skills Challenge

Natasha Cloud beats the buzzer with 1.1 seconds to spare, edging Erica Wheeler's 37.5 to triumph the WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge.

Erica Wheeler, Seattle Storm
Grade: A-

The longtime subordinate of the Indiana Fever got a immense cheer from the assemblage erstwhile she referred to her home-court vantage successful the competition. It looked similar that mightiness beryllium capable to transportation the 2019 All-Star MVP to victory, overcoming a gaffe successful the opening round. Focusing connected fundamentals and making her archetypal changeable oregon pass, Wheeler had capable cushion to beforehand adjacent though she smoked her archetypal layup attempt. In the finals, Wheeler acceptable the barroom for Cloud, but slowing down erstwhile she needed aggregate attempts astatine the above-the-break 3-pointer outgo her.

Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream
Grade: B-

The defending champ, Gray moved rapidly done the people -- possibly excessively accelerated for her ain good. Gray was already trying to determination connected to the adjacent presumption erstwhile she missed her archetypal thorax walk and had to treble back. Gray needed each 3 attempts, leaving her excessively acold down to scope the last circular contempt beardown shooting.

Courtney Williams, Minnesota Lynx
Grade: C

After a beardown commencement with bounce passes, Williams wasn't cleanable capable the remainder of the round. Williams needed aggregate attempts connected her outlet passes and shots, leaving her with a people of 42.0 seconds that surpassed lone Diggins. Ahead of playing successful Saturday's All-Star Game, that near Williams clip to absorption connected her livestream with Natisha Hiedeman.

Skylar Diggins, Seattle Storm
Grade: C-

Diggins' opening circular reflected an contented with the skills situation rules that the NBA and WNBA haven't rectified aft the San Antonio Spurs were disqualified astatine NBA All-Star Saturday Night for attempting to exploit it. Because players determination connected with nary punishment aft 3 missed shots (or passes), there's nary existent payment to making the past changeable -- arsenic Diggins did from each 3 locations. The clip Diggins spent connected those attempts doomed her to the archetypal round's slowest time.