Women's Fastbreak On SI

Sheryl Swoopes' Caitlin Clark Respect Leads to Sabrina Ionescu 3-Point Contest Shade

WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes gave Caitlin Clark her flowers — but it came at the expense of Sabrina Ionescu.

Grant Young

Jul 19, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz., United States; Sheryl Swoopes hosts a WBNA All-Star brunch in honor of her former teammate, Nikki McCray Penson, at Thea in Phoenix on July 19, 2024
Jul 19, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz., United States; Sheryl Swoopes hosts a WBNA All-Star brunch in honor of her former teammate, Nikki McCray Penson, at Thea in Phoenix on July 19, 2024 / Diannie Chavez/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

One of the biggest stories in the basketball world over the past few days was Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark declining an invitation to participate in the 2025 NBA All-Star Game weekend's three-point competition so that she could make her three-point contest debut at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game on the Fever's home court.

Clark was reportedly going to team up with New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu and compete against Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. But that is now no longer in the works with the 23-year-old Fever star declining.

This decision has been praised by many within the sports media space. And while WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes hasn't always been quick to give Clark her flowers, she did so when speaking about this decision during a January 31 episode of the GIl's Arena show.

"I respect that," Swoopes said of Clark's decision, per an X post from Gilbert Arenas.

She then added, "Because Sabrina did the opposite, right? Sabrina shot in last year's [NBA] All-Star Game with Steph [Curry] but refused to participate in the WNBA three-point shooting contest."

Swoopes is alluding to how Ionescu didn't partake in the 2024 WNBA All-Star three-point shooting competition, despite having competed against Steph Curry in the special Steph vs. Sabrina three-point contest during the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend.

However, it's very worth noting that Ionescu has not only competed in a WNBA All-Star three-point shooting competition before, but she set a record for most points (37) in a single round of any three-point competition (both NBA and WNBA) during the 2023 contest.

She also made 20 consecutive shots there.

That was arguably the most viral moment of the 2023 WNBA season. Therefore, Ionescu has undoubtedly done the WNBA All-Star three-point competition its due diligence.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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