Caitlin Clark won't participate in NBA All-Star 3-point shootout, her agency says

Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark won’t participate in the NBA’s All-Star special 3-point shootout in San Francisco in mid-February, and the reason might surprise you.

Clark’s representatives at Excel Sports told ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania that Clark “wants her first three-point contest to be at WNBA All-Star in Indianapolis this summer.”

While a bit of a bummer for the NBA, which has pushed to highlight the WNBA more in recent months, the move makes sense for Caitlin Clark.

The former Iowa star has done everything in her power to advance only on merit, rather than the superstar brand appeal that she has as arguably the face of women’s basketball these days. Clark was famously snubbed for the US Olympic team in Paris, despite putting up some absurd numbers that had her in the conversation.

She was nothing but gracious about it.

“No disappointment. I think it just gives you something to work for,” Clark said after the Olympics snub. “That’s a dream. Hopefully one day I can be there. I think it’s just a little more motivation. You remember that and hopefully, when four years comes back around, I can be there.”

Caitlin Clark’s first year in the WNBA was a smashing success, though.

She finished as a WNBA All-Star and also was named to the All-WNBA First Team. She earned WNBA Rookie of the Year honors and a spot on the All-Rookie Team.

The former Hawkeyes heroine also finished as the league’s assists leader, dishing out a whopping 337 assists as a rookie. Clark started all 40 games that she appeared in for the Fever and finished the season averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

She shot 41.7% from the floor and 34.4% from 3-point range.

Caitlin Clark will eventually get her chance to participate in the kind of All-Star challenges she was invited to in the NBA this winter. She just wants to do it on her terms.