Salaun Scored 19 and Finished Fourth in the 3-Point Contest

The Valkyries' first 3-point contestant missed the two-woman final by five points as Dallas rookie Azzi Fudd won it. Gabby Williams starts for Team Coop tonight on ABC.

Salaun's first contest ended a round early

Janelle Salaun's first State Farm WNBA 3-Point Contest lasted one round. She scored 19 on Friday night at Wintrust Arena, finished fourth of six, and missed the two-woman final by five points (Valkyries official, AP via TSN).

Portland's Bridget Carleton led the first round with 29, hitting 13 of her first 16, and Dallas rookie Azzi Fudd posted 24 to grab the other final spot. Atlanta's Rhyne Howard scored 20, Salaun 19, Toronto's Marina Mabrey 18, and Seattle's Natisha Hiedeman 17 (Yahoo Sports, AP via CBS Texas).

Fudd then won the final 30 to 19, connecting on her first six triples and 20 of 26 shots, to become the first rookie and first Wings player to win the event (Bleacher Report). "I wanted to see the ball go in," Fudd said afterward (USA Today). Aflac stacked prize money on top of the new CBA's $20,000 winner purse and $10,000 for every entrant: Fudd took $40,000, Carleton $30,000, Howard $15,000 for third (AP via WTOP).

2026 WNBA 3-Point Contest first-round scores — First-round scores at Wintrust Arena; Carleton and Fudd (top two) advanced to the final, where Fudd won 30-19. Source: WNBA / Associated Press

Film room. Salaun walked in as the field's most accurate shooter, 39.4 percent from deep on the season, and the hottest, 14 of 27 over her final five games. She also put up the fewest threes of the top three, 6.3 a game, while Fudd (53 makes, the most among rookies) and Mabrey (a league-leading 3.3 threes a game) get far more in-game reps. A timed shootout rewards rhythm and reps more than raw efficiency, and Salaun's round bore that out. She opened well on the left, managed just one make at the top of the key, then reeled off four straight on the right wing and four of five in the right corner (Valkyries official). The cold rack in the middle, where a shooter has to find her touch fast, is the five points that kept her out of the final.

Williams starts for Team Coop tonight

The All-Star Game tips at 8:30 p.m. ET (5:30 PT) tonight at the United Center in Chicago on ABC, with a Disney+ stream and a WNBA Countdown pregame at 8 p.m. ET; Grammy winner Tyla performs at halftime (ESPN, ESPN Press Room, Yahoo Sports).

Gabby Williams is the lone Valkyrie in the game and a Team Coop starter, coach Becky Hammon's squad alongside Dallas's Paige Bueckers, New York's Breanna Stewart, Indiana's Kelsey Mitchell, and Minnesota's Natasha Howard (WNBA). It is her first All-Star start and a full-circle night: she began her WNBA career in Chicago and played three seasons for the Sky (Valkyries official). She is averaging a career-high 14.8 points on a career-best 34.3 percent from three (OurSports Central).

Hall of Famer Cynthia Cooper, who drafted Team Coop, took Williams last among the starters and made clear she was no afterthought. "She's going to be one of the headliners on Team Coop," Cooper said. "She's a big guard. She can get it done from the point guard position. She runs the floor. She finishes around the basket and she can knock down that 3-point shot with her hand in her face, and that's what Team Coop needs" (USA Today).

Team Spoon, coached by Minnesota's Cheryl Reeve, starts Caitlin Clark, A'ja Wilson, Olivia Miles, Aliyah Boston, and Jessica Shepard (NBC Sports). One Team Coop reserve worth tracking: Atlanta's Angel Reese, who left Sunday's game with a buckled left knee, said Friday her knee is good and she is playing in her return to Chicago (AP).

Where the Valkyries sit at the break

Golden State is 19-8 at the All-Star break, second in the Western Conference and 2.5 games behind Minnesota (22-6), with Las Vegas (18-8) third at 3.0 back. The Valkyries are 9-1 over their last 10, the best mark in the league, and the team they are chasing just got its best player back: Napheesa Collier debuted Wednesday with 24 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes after offseason surgery on both ankles (TSN). The schedule resumes Wednesday at Phoenix (10-18), a 7 p.m. PT tip on USA and CNBC, the first of a closing stretch that brings Minnesota and Dallas back to Chase Center in August (Valkyries official, ESPN).

Tracking

Burton's All-Star door is closed. Angel Reese playing shuts the last opening, and Kahleah Copper already took Kelsey Plum's spot. Veronica Burton, the lead guard on the league's stingiest defense, will not appear in her first All-Star Game this year.
Shooting Stars went to Washington. The inaugural Kia WNBA Shooting Stars on Friday was won by a Washington trio of Elena Delle Donne, Mystics forward Shakira Austin, and 17-year-old Jezelle "GG" Banks, who hit two four-pointers from just inside halfcourt to seal a 31-24 final over Seattle (Bleacher Report). Austin is the Mystics forward who grabbed 16 rebounds in the Valkyries' home opener on July 18.