Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu Declined Invites to 2024 WNBA 3-Point Contest

New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu and Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark declined the opportunity to compete in the WNBA's Three-Point Contest.

The Associated Press' Doug Feinberg confirmed with the league that both players were approached about participating and decided against it.

The WNBA announced the five-player field for the Three-Point Contest on Wednesday night:

Fans were almost immediately struck by the fact neither Ionescu nor Clark was included in the group:

They were arguably the top two names to consider.

Ionescu is the reigning three-point champion and put together a record-breaking performance in last year's event. She put up 37 points in the final round.

The Liberty guard is a slightly worse three-point shooter in 2024 compared to 2023, when she knocked down 44.8 percent of her tries. She's still shooting 35.6 percent from beyond the arc and averaging 3.0 makes per game.

Clark likewise hasn't been an efficient scorer (32.7 percent on three-pointers), but her long-range prowess was part of her on-court legend in college at Iowa. And if nothing else, the WNBA's viewership trends indicate having her involved would've drawn more eyeballs to the Three-Point Contest.

Ionescu and Clark wouldn't have been going out of their way to compete in the Three-Point Contest, either. They're on opposing sides in the All-Star Game, which pits Team USA against a squad of WNBA stars since this is an Olympic year.

Unfortunately, a three-point battle between the two will have to wait.