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Goodbye, WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge. Hello, WNBA Shooting Stars.
The WNBA is taking a page out of the NBA's playbook at the 2026 WNBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago by swapping out the Skills Challenge for the newly-revamped WNBA Shooting Stars competition on Friday, July 24.
The Shooting Stars competition was first contested at the 2004 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles, pairing an active NBA player, an active WNBA player and a retired NBA player together. Team Los Angeles (Derek Fisher, Lisa Leslie and Magic Johnson) edged Team San Antonio (Emanuel Ginobili, Jennifer Azzi and Steve Kerr) to win the inaugural competition in front of the home crowd.
The event was contested from 2004-2015, before returning for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
Now, the Shooting Stars competition is coming to WNBA All-Star weekend. What is WNBA Shooting Stars? How does the competition work? Who is competing? USA TODAY Sports is breaking down the new format:
More: Azzi Fudd, Marina Mabrey set for 2026 WNBA 3-point contest
WNBA legends, current players and Nike EYBL Standouts will team up to form four teams representing Minnesota, Seattle, Washington and the Dallas-Detroit market.
Five-time WNBA champion Rebekkah Brunson will join forces with three-time All-Star Courtney Williams to represent Minnesota. Class of 2026 Basketball Hall of Famer Elena Delle Donne will pair up with Shakira Austin for Team Washington. Team Seattle will feature three-time league MVP and Hall of Famer Lauren Jackson and Storm rookie Flau’jae Johnson. Team Dallas-Detroit includes three-time WNBA champion Deanna "Tweety" Nolan and first-time All-Star Jessica Shepard.
Each team will be joined by Nike EYBL participants Jezelle "GG" Banks, Ryan Carter, Tatianna Griffin and Morghan Reckley.
Four teams will have 70 seconds to score as many points as possible while rotating between seven shooting locations around the court. Every team will start at the spot No. 1 to the right of the basket for a layup, with each team member going in a predetermined order they'll stick to at every spot location.
Each team will visit each of the seven shot locations in order, with a designated passer providing a ball for each shot from the left wing. Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon, the honorary general Managers for the 2026 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game, will serve as the designated passers.
Each team will have one attempt at the first six spots, while players can attempt as many shots from spot No. 7 until time expires, as long as the players shoot in order. If any player on a team shoots out of order, the shot will not count and the player will not be able to shoot again at that spot.
Each spot on the court is assigned a different value based of difficulty. Spot No. 1, for example, is worth two points, while each made shot from spot No. 7, a long-range 3-pointer, is worth four points each:
The two teams with the most points after the first round will compete in a winner-take-all second round.
All-Star weekend officially kicks off Friday with the 3-point competition and shooting stars, which tips off 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at [email protected] and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA Shooting Stars to debut at All-Star Weekend: Teams, rules, how to watch
Continue reading...
The WNBA is taking a page out of the NBA's playbook at the 2026 WNBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago by swapping out the Skills Challenge for the newly-revamped WNBA Shooting Stars competition on Friday, July 24.
The Shooting Stars competition was first contested at the 2004 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles, pairing an active NBA player, an active WNBA player and a retired NBA player together. Team Los Angeles (Derek Fisher, Lisa Leslie and Magic Johnson) edged Team San Antonio (Emanuel Ginobili, Jennifer Azzi and Steve Kerr) to win the inaugural competition in front of the home crowd.
The event was contested from 2004-2015, before returning for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
Now, the Shooting Stars competition is coming to WNBA All-Star weekend. What is WNBA Shooting Stars? How does the competition work? Who is competing? USA TODAY Sports is breaking down the new format:
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More: Azzi Fudd, Marina Mabrey set for 2026 WNBA 3-point contest
Who will compete in WNBA Shooting Stars?
WNBA legends, current players and Nike EYBL Standouts will team up to form four teams representing Minnesota, Seattle, Washington and the Dallas-Detroit market.
Five-time WNBA champion Rebekkah Brunson will join forces with three-time All-Star Courtney Williams to represent Minnesota. Class of 2026 Basketball Hall of Famer Elena Delle Donne will pair up with Shakira Austin for Team Washington. Team Seattle will feature three-time league MVP and Hall of Famer Lauren Jackson and Storm rookie Flau’jae Johnson. Team Dallas-Detroit includes three-time WNBA champion Deanna "Tweety" Nolan and first-time All-Star Jessica Shepard.
Each team will be joined by Nike EYBL participants Jezelle "GG" Banks, Ryan Carter, Tatianna Griffin and Morghan Reckley.
| TEAM | WNBA LEGEND | CURRENT PLAYER | NIKE EYBL PLAYER |
| Minnesota | Rebekkah Brunson | Courtney Williams | To be assigned |
| Seattle | Lauren Jackson | Flau’jae Johnson | To be assigned |
| Washington | Elena Delle Donne | Shakira Austin | To be assigned |
| Dallas/Detroit | Deanna “Tweety” Nolan | Jessica Shepard | To be assigned |
WNBA Shooting Stars rules
Four teams will have 70 seconds to score as many points as possible while rotating between seven shooting locations around the court. Every team will start at the spot No. 1 to the right of the basket for a layup, with each team member going in a predetermined order they'll stick to at every spot location.
Each team will visit each of the seven shot locations in order, with a designated passer providing a ball for each shot from the left wing. Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon, the honorary general Managers for the 2026 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game, will serve as the designated passers.
Each team will have one attempt at the first six spots, while players can attempt as many shots from spot No. 7 until time expires, as long as the players shoot in order. If any player on a team shoots out of order, the shot will not count and the player will not be able to shoot again at that spot.
Each spot on the court is assigned a different value based of difficulty. Spot No. 1, for example, is worth two points, while each made shot from spot No. 7, a long-range 3-pointer, is worth four points each:
- Shot No. 1: Right Lane Layup/Dunk (2 pts)
- Shot No. 2: 18' Right Baseline (2 pts)
- Shot No. 3: Right Elbow (2 pts)
- Shot No. 4: Right Wing 3-pointer (3 pts)
- Shot No. 5: Top of the Key (2 pts)
- Shot No. 6: Left Corner 3-pointer (3 pts)
- Shot No. 7: Long Range 3-pointer (4 pts)
The two teams with the most points after the first round will compete in a winner-take-all second round.
How to watch WNBA All-Star 3-point, Shooting Stars
All-Star weekend officially kicks off Friday with the 3-point competition and shooting stars, which tips off 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
- Date: Friday, July 24
- Location: Wintrust Arena (Chicago)
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN
- Streaming: Fubo, Sling
Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at [email protected] and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA Shooting Stars to debut at All-Star Weekend: Teams, rules, how to watch
Continue reading...
