McBride Joins Ionescu in Criticizing WNBA 3-Point Contest Invitation Process

Communication failures continue to plague the WNBA’s 3-point shooting competition. Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride joined reigning champion Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty in denouncing the league’s invitation process, describing her bid to participate as a “half-ass invite” delivered casually via text through her agent just 48 hours before the event.

McBride addressed the matter publicly Wednesday through Instagram Stories, pushing back against speculation about her reasons for sitting out the contest. She emphasized that rumors circulating on social media should not be treated as credible without direct confirmation from her, using the phrase “posting things like i’m afraid of shooting smoke is weird” to highlight the absurdity of unfounded claims.

Rather than focus on her exclusion, the 34-year-old redirected attention to the six competitors participating in Friday’s 8 p.m. ET event: Bridget Carleton of the Portland Fire, Azzi Fudd of the Dallas Wings, Natisha Hiedeman of the Seattle Storm, Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream, Marina Mabrey of the Toronto Tempo, and Janelle Salaün of the Golden State Valkyries.

McBride, who is enjoying a career year averaging 18.2 points per game across 28 contests, has competed in three previous 3-point contests without winning. Her absence marks another high-profile snub for an event also missing Ionescu and Caitlin Clark.