In Chicago, the WNBA kicked off its All-Star weekend celebration with two events – the Shooting Stars competition and the 3-point contest. WNBA legends, current up-and-coming stars of the league, and a smattering of high schoolers on the rise were center stage on Friday night, ahead of a highly anticipated All-Star game on Saturday night from the same arena. 

While this wasn’t the main event, it was an awesome appetizer for Saturday night’s festivities. Whether you caught the two featured events on stream or on TV, you saw some electric performances from unexpected sources. 

High School Hoopers Kept Things Competitive

During the opening event, the Shooting Stars competition, it wasn’t the slate of returning WNBA legends that kept things spicy – it was the performances from high schoolers featured on each team that helped to make the final round between Team Washington and Team Seattle interesting. 

Specifically, multiple clutch 4-point shots from EYBL point guard GG Banks helped elevate Team Washington to obvious favorites in the competition pretty much immediately. She, Mystics forward Shakira Austin, and former Mystics star and WNBA legend Elena Delle Donne were hitting those long-range shots with unbelievable consistency in both rounds of the short competition. Austin told reporters after the competition that the young phenom “carried” their team. 

The fact that she kept pace with her and Delle Donne was fun to see. 

Legends Returning for Shooting Stars competition 

While watching the Shooting Stars event, it was tough not to wonder if there could be a universe where Delle Donne returned to the WNBA sooner rather than later. Just 36 years old, it’s obvious that the former multi-time MVP and WNBA champion still has something in the tank to offer. She even told ESPN’s Holly Rowe that she wouldn’t commit to a “no” regarding a return, but wouldn’t commit to a “yes.”

Other than Delle Donne, it was great to see Lauren Jackson, Rebekkah Brunson, and Deanna “Tweety” Nolan all hooping it up alongside their high school and current WNBA star teammates for this event, with dimes coming from Cynthia Cooper-Dyke and Teresa Weatherspoon. 

Delle Donne was the real winner from this contest, though, potentially pushing some teams to consider courting her back to the league after her fantastic performance. The former 50-40-90 forward could still be a solid contributor for any team in the league, but it’s especially fun to imagine her injected onto the Mystics’ current roster. 

A 3-Point Contest First

This year’s 3-point contest was chock-full of high-percentage shooting talent. 

Veterans abounded on the competition’s roster, with Bridget Carleton, Rhyne Howard, Natisha Hiedeman, and Marina Mabrey all looking like unbelievably solid bets to win this competition outright. 

That didn’t matter very much to Azzi Fudd, though. 

“I was shocked. That’s crazy. To be the first is definitely an honor…coming back from injury…you get really good shooting off a rack,” said Fudd after winning the competition in dominant fashion. 

The Dallas Wings rookie guard was sensational in her first 3-point shooting contest, ousting Carleton in the final with a blistering 20-for-26 on her makes. You can describe her shot as mechanical, a sure thing, a science, or as a beauty. The difference in those semantics doesn’t really matter, because one thing we can now all agree on is that Fudd’s shot is a winning one. 

She was the first rookie to win the competition, helping to bring what she surely hopes is the first of many trophies home to Arlington thanks to her contributions.