Cloud, Ionescu Win Skills And 3-Point Contests At WNBA All-Star

Before the WNBA All-Star Game takes place Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana, players participated in the Kia WNBA Skills Challenge and the WNBA STARRY® 3-Point Contest on Friday. The night ended with two New York Liberty teammates winning the events, as Natasha Cloud took the Skills title and Sabrina Ionescu earned her second 3-Point Contest trophy.

“It means everything. The last time I was here in (Indianapolis) against Steph (Curry), I lost, so I felt like I had to come back and redeem myself,” said Ionescu, who headlined the first-ever NBA vs. WNBA three-point contest against Curry during the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, also in Indianapolis.

In addition to being recognized as the best in their category, the winner of each challenge took home prize money, with Cloud earning $55,000 and Ionescu $60,000.

Cloud dedicated the money to putting a down payment on a house with her partner and teammate Isabelle Harrison, while Ionescu said she would split the prize with Washington Mystics rookie Sonia Citron—who also competed in the 3-Point Contest—and her own foundation, SI20.

“I told Sonia that I would give her half if I won, when we were sitting on the bench. Being the only rookie, she was nervous, and I was nervous for her. So, I obviously have to hold up my end of the bargain,” Ionescu told reporters at the end of the event. “So, half is gonna go to her. I gotta text her and let her know that I’m gonna give her half just for participating. That takes a lot of courage to be able to do that as a rookie. Then the other half is going to go to my foundation to continue to be able to give back to communities. That means a lot to me.”

Cloud Wins With One-Second Difference

Five WNBA players competed in the Kia WNBA Skills Challenge, a timed obstacle course designed to test dribbling, passing and shooting abilities. The players chosen by the league were Natasha Cloud (New York Liberty), Skylar Diggins (Seattle Storm), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Erica Wheeler (Seattle Storm), and Courtney Williams (Minnesota Lynx).

The course included a series of passes—bounce, chest and outlet—along with shots from the elbow, the top of the arc and the corner. A 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid was positioned on the course as part of the obstacles. The two players with the fastest times in the first round advanced to the final.

In the first round, the five players competed for the only two spots in the final. Williams and Diggins both finished the course in over 40 seconds, not enough to advance, as Cloud and Wheeler had both finished with better times. It was up to reigning Skills champion Gray to try to defend her title. However, at 39.4 seconds, she fell short of Wheeler’s 36.5.

In the deciding round, Cloud was crowned the winner by beating Wheeler’s time by one second.

“I knew that what was like a definite for me, is that I was gonna hit my passes and then these obstacles. I wanted to be as fast as I could on those … to get into my shots and take my time. But also, if I felt like I was missing it, I was missing it,” Cloud said after winning the challenge. “I was getting that second and third shot up, because that’s the name of the game. So once I got to the last shot, I looked up. I had three seconds. I said, ‘Don’t smoke that layup.’”

She didn’t smoke the layup and took home the trophy and the prize money.

Ionescu Becomes Second WNBA Player to Win Multiple 3-Point Contests

Five participants competed in the WNBA STARRY® 3-Point Contest, a two-round, timed shooting event with five racks positioned around the three-point arc. Four of the racks included four standard WNBA game balls worth one point each, and one “money ball” worth two points. A fifth rack, consisting entirely of money balls, was placed at a location of the shooter’s choice. Two additional “STARRY® Range” pedestals held one special ball each from extended distance, with made shots worth three points.

The players selected by the league were originally Sonia Citron (Washington Mystics), Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Kelsey Plum (Los Angeles Sparks) and Ionescu. Due to a groin injury, Clark withdrew from the event and was replaced by her teammate Lexie Hull.

Hull was one of three players eliminated in the first round, alongside Plum and Citron. The final round took place between the contest’s two most recent winners: Gray and Ionescu. With a strong performance that included 11 consecutive makes, the Liberty guard was unbeatable and became just the second WNBA player ever to win multiple 3-Point Contests.

The other is Allie Quigley, who won the event four times.