Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu Decline WNBA 3-Point Contest

Caitlin Clark and Sabrina Ionescu, two of the WNBA’s best-known players, declined to participate in Friday’s 3-point contest in Phoenix.

Ionescu is preparing for the Paris Olympics—group play begins July 29 against Japan—and, according to the Associated Press, is focusing on the Olympic camp. Clark, who was left off Team USA’s roster, is finishing the first few months of what’s been a record-setting first half of her rookie campaign.

On Wednesday, WNBA players’ association head Terri Carmichael Jackson objected to reports that the league would receive nearly $200 million annually as part of the NBA’s $75 billion, 11-year media rights deal with Disney, NBC and Amazon.

“We look forward to learning how the NBA arrived at a $200 million valuation—if initial reports are accurate or even close,” Carmichael Jackson said in a statement. The amount represents a six-fold increase in the rights pay for the WNBA, which was party to the negotiations.

Clark, for her part, set the WNBA’s single-game assist record with 19 later that evening as the Indiana Fever closed the first half of the season with a loss to the Dallas Wings. She and Chicago’s Angel Reese were the only two rookies named as all-stars.

Players earn $1,030 for participating in the 3-point contest, with the winner receiving $2,575, according to the WNBA’s most recent collective bargaining agreement.

The participants this year include Ionescu’s New York Liberty teammate Jonquel Jones, Stefanie Dolson (Washington Mystics), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Marina Mabrey (Connecticut Sun) and Kayla McBride (Minnesota Lynx).

During the NBA’s All-Star weekend in February, Ionescu participated in a 3-point contest with Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry that saw Curry beat Ionescu by three points. Ionescu was the W’s 3-point contest champion last year after putting up a record 37 points in the final round, hitting 25 of 27 shots.