CHICAGO — Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd received the WNBA All-Star 3-point capturing contest Friday night time, changing into the primary rookie to seize the title in league historical past.
Fudd, the 2026 No. 1 choose, scored 30 of the attainable 40 factors within the closing spherical, beating Portland Fire ahead Bridget Carleton, who completed with 19. Fudd missed solely six of the 27 photographs to win the championship.
“You say ‘only’ six shots, but I feel like that was a lot,” Fudd stated. “But honestly, I was really nervous. I was excited.”
Fudd added: “It’s fun to do because — and I don’t want to sound cocky — but it’s easy to me, just the set shot. Take the ball from the rack; it really is muscle memory. It’s what I’ve been doing since I was young.”
This season, Fudd ranks tenth within the WNBA with 2.0 3-pointers per sport and can also be tenth in complete 3-pointers made with 53. She credited her dad and mom for her capturing kind, significantly her mom, whose shot, she stated, is equivalent to hers.
But Fudd additionally stated her potential to hit a shot repeatedly from the identical spot stems from rehabbing accidents. Fudd handled a number of accidents throughout her faculty profession, notably a torn proper ACL and meniscus in November 2023 that sidelined her for almost all of that season. She additionally missed vital time throughout her sophomore 12 months in 2022-23 due to one other proper knee harm.
“That was a lot of chair shooting, a lot of stationary shots, so you get really good at shooting off of a rack and being stationary and robotic and having to knock your shot down.”
The 3-point contest was the second competitors of the night time. Earlier, the league held its first Shooting Stars competitors, which changed the talents problem.
Shooting Stars featured 4 groups of three gamers from completely different generations: one “legend,” one present participant and one up-and-coming participant. Team Washington, which featured WNBA Hall of Famer Elena Delle Donne, Mystics ahead Shakira Austin and Nike EYBL participant Jezelle “GG” Banks, received the competitors.
Each workforce had 70 seconds to shoot from seven spots on the ground, with every shot being value two, three or 4 factors, relying on the situation. The two groups with the very best rating after the primary spherical made it to the ultimate.
Team Washington beat Team Seattle, that includes legend Lauren Jackson, present participant Flau’jae Johnson and highschool participant Tatianna Griffin, to win the trophy.
“I loved it,” Delle Donne stated. “It was certainly fun to participate in. I hope it was fun for the viewers to watch. To be able to lead the next generation and see our next superstars rising, it’s really cool.”
Delle Donne, Austin and Banks every obtained $22,500 and likewise break up a prize of $85,000. Fudd earned $70,000 because the winner of the 3-point shootout, with $30,000 of that assured by the brand new CBA tips. Last 12 months, Sabrina Ionescu‘s prize cash from the union was $2,575.
