The WNBA announced the six participants for the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game Three-Point Contest on Tuesday.
Fans were quick to notice that Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham was not among those who could be participating in the contest, which will take place on Friday in Chicago.
Cunningham also took notice of this on Tuesday night and made her opinion about this snub clear with an X post.
“soooo what else is new with everyone?” Cunningham wrote in an X post that has since been deleted, which was a reply to another X post from Drew Hanlen that showed Cunningham and her teammate, Aliyah Boston, were leading the WNBA in three-point percentage among active, eligible players this season.
Hanlen’s X post was captioned, “Second in the league in 3P% & not invited to the 3-Point Contest? They’re hating on you, @sophaller!”
This response from Cunningham was perfect, even though she decided to delete it. The fact that she let other people express their outrage for her and instead just called attention to the fact that she wasn’t included was the perfect way to make her opinion known without coming off as desperate or overly upset about the decision.
It’s certainly interesting that Cunningham didn’t earn a spot in the three-point contest, especially because she has been elite from three-point range this season. And while the six participants (Rhyne Howard, Marina Mabrey, Azzi Fudd, Bridget Carleton, Natisha Hiedeman, and Janelle Salaun)
Cunningham has a right to be frustrated, and there’s a strong case to be made that her polarizing nature factored in to her not making the final cut for the contest.
There’s no way of knowing whether this is indeed the case. But perhaps the WNBA was worried that having Cunningham participate in the three-point contest would cause too much of a stir and decided it wasn’t worth the trouble.
Then again, the WNBA should not be scared of a stir. Especially because Cunningham would have brought a ton of eyeballs to the event that will perhaps no longer tune in, especially because Cunningham’s other teammate, star guard Caitlin Clark, decided against participating in the event.
Perhaps Cunningham will be asked about this three-point contest snub between now and Friday, when the contest takes place. If she does, it will be fascinating to see how diplomatic she is with her response, or if she makes her true opinion heard.
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