Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark officially turned the NBA down on Wednesday, declining to participate in the 2025 Starry 3-Point Contest at next month's NBA All-Star Weekend. 

"Caitlin will not be at NBA All-Star," Clark's reps at Excel Sports Management told The Athletic. "She wants her first 3-point contest to be at WNBA All-Star in Indianapolis this summer."

The men's league tapped the WNBA's reigning Rookie of the Year after last year's three-point contest between Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu and Golden State's Steph Curry proved a success. That WNBA vs. NBA event, in which Curry edged Ionescu 29-26, arguably outshone the NBA's regular three-point competition.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Though Clark played in her first WNBA All-Star Game last summer, she did not take part in the three-point contest. However, with Indianapolis hosting this year's edition, the sharpshooter seems set on making her three-point debut on the Fever's home court.

Consequently, Ionescu could step in for a surprise rematch in Clark's absence. Though she hasn't confirmed any participation in the NBA's upcoming All-Star festivities in San Francisco, the Unrivaled player did recently mention that she'll miss some of her 3x3 games due to prior obligations — and that she'll be in her Bay Area home for the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend.

Clark to accept Iowa honor

Though Clark passed on the NBA, she will be in attendance at Iowa's home game against No. 4 USC on Sunday, when her alma mater will honor the star by raising her No. 22 jersey into the rafters of Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The undisputed greatest player in program history, Clark led Iowa to back-to-back national championship games en route to twice being named the consensus National Player of the Year. Her 3,951 college points make Clark the Division I men’s and women’s all-time leading scorer, and she tops the NCAA women’s career three-point list with 548 shots made beyond the arc. 

Sunday's ceremony will make Clark the third player in program history to see her number retired, joining fellow Iowa standouts Megan Gustafson (10) and Michelle Edwards (30).

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Not to be outdone, Clark's foundation awarded four $22,000 grants to Iowa-based charities on Wednesday, giving back to the community who supported her historic collegiate run prior to Sunday's celebration.

Accordingly, the four organizations Clark chose to receive the grants are the University of Iowa Children's Hospital, the Coralville Community Food Pantry, the Boys and Girls Club of the Corridor, and the Iowa-East Central branch of the Special Olympics.

"I'm forever proud to be a Hawkeye," Clark said in the school’s December announcement. "It means the world to me to receive this honor and to celebrate it with my family, friends and alumni."

More Clark logo threes coming in May

Proving she can't stay away from campus for long, Clark has already scheduled a return trip — and she's bringing the entire Indiana Fever in tow.

According to a Thursday announcement, the WNBA team will take on the Brazilian national team in a preseason exhibition game under Clark's newly raised jersey on May 4th.

"We couldn’t be more excited to play at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and we know Iowa fans will deliver an unforgettable homecoming for Caitlin," Fever president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf said in a statement. "Countless Hawkeye fans have become Fever fans, and we consider them family."

How to watch Caitlin Clark's jersey retirement at No. 4 USC vs. Iowa

Clark's jersey retirement will occur during Sunday's 1:30 PM ET game between No. 4 USC and Iowa. Live coverage will air on Fox.

Adding to their already historic season, 2024/25 WSL champions and 2025 League Cup winners Chelsea FC handed Manchester United a 3-0 defeat in Sunday's 2025 FA Cup final, completing the club's second-ever domestic treble.

Though the Blues first claimed an elusive treble in the 2020/21 season, this year's roster did so without dropping a single match in any of the three domestic competitions.

"I could not have expected this," said first-year Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor about her debut success leading the Blues. "It is almost ideal in terms of domestic dominance."

To clinch that dominance, Chelsea upended the defending FA Cup champs Manchester United at London's iconic Wembley Stadium behind a brace from French fullback Sandy Baltimore and a header from USWNT attacker Catarina Macario.

Baltimore gave Chelsea the lead by slipping a late first-half penalty past 2024/25 WSL Golden Glove winner and USWNT goalkeeper prospect Phallon Tullis-Joyce, and the Blues never relented, with second-half sub Macario doubling their scoreline in the 84th minute before Baltimore tacked on a final goal in stoppage time.

"It's a very emotional day," an emotional Macario told the broadcast after finishing her first season following a long ACL recovery. "It's a trophy we always wanted to win."

"All the credit to my players," said Bompastor. "We showed our mentality and our values in this game so we ended the season in an almost perfect scenario – we won, we were playing at Wembley, the stadium was nearly sold out, and we had a strong performance and result against a strong opponent."

"It is an almost ideal way to finish the season."

FA Cup crowds prove sustained demand for women's soccer

Chelsea FC's undefeated treble-winning season wasn't the only notable victory on Sunday, as the FA Cup final drew a crowd of over 74,000 fans for the third straight year.

Sunday's 74,412 attendance mark was just shy of both last year's crowd of 76,082 and the 77,390 fans who watched Chelsea defeat the Red Devils in 2023 — all well beyond the tournament final's previous record of 49,094 attendees achieved in 2022.

Fueled by the football fervor following England's 2022 Euro victory — the country's first international trophy, men's or women's, since the 1966 men's World Cup — the 2023 FA Cup final still stands as the largest crowd at a domestic women's soccer match across all nations.

With Sunday's match joining the over-74,000 attendance club, it's clear the post-Euros enthusiasm wasn't a blip, but a boost to the continued growth and sustained success of the women's game.

While most WNBA stars hit the court running this weekend, a few saw their 2025 campaigns already shortened as teams released season-opening injury reports.

Phoenix forward Kahleah Copper will miss four to six weeks of play, the Mercury reported on Saturday, after the 2024 Olympic gold medalist underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on her left knee last week.

Another knee injury has LA's Rae Burrell sidelined for the next six to eight weeks, after the fourth-year guard took a knock to the right leg just 41 seconds into the Sparks' 2025 debut win over Golden State.

On Friday, the Mystics released updates on both second-year forward Aaliyah Edwards and rookie guard Georgia Amoore. While another assessment of the Unrivaled 1v1 runner-up's back injury will occur in two more weeks, Washington confirmed that the Australian standout will miss the entire 2025 WNBA season after undergoing a successful surgery to repair her right ACL.

Seattle's Katie Lou Samuelson is also out for the full 2025 campaign, with the 27-year-old Storm forward recovering from last week's successful surgery after tearing her right ACL in practice on May 1st.

Kitley makes long-awaited WNBA debut as Brink eyes return

In more uplifting news, LA's Cameron Brink is on track to return to the Sparks sometime next month, one year after her standout rookie season came to a halt in a left ACL tear.

Already celebrating, however, is 2024 second-round draftee Elizabeth Kitley, who battled back from injury to make her WNBA debut and score her first league points in Las Vegas's Saturday loss to New York.

The Aces took a draft chance on Kitley, despite the center suffering an ACL tear in her final NCAA postseason. In response, the former Virginia Tech star successfully translated her year-long delayed shot at a pro career by surviving Las Vegas's brutal 2025 roster cuts.

Notably, Kitley's close friend and collegiate on-court counterpart with the Hokies is the aforementioned Amoore, who will aim for a rookie-season redo of her own next year.

The No. 1 Kansas City Current strengthened their grip on the 2025 NWSL Shield race on Friday, taking down now-No. 3 Orlando 1-0 on the road to earn a four-point lead atop of the NWSL table.

Reigning league MVP Temwa Chawinga scored the top-table game's lone goal. With five goals in nine matches, Chawinga now sits in a four-way tie for second place in the 2025 Golden Boot race.

"If you don't come with heart, you have no chance," Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski said after the match. "And today I think we showed heart."

Kansas City now stands 7-2-0 on the season, putting the NWSL Shield firmly within their grasp.

Kansas City's rise aside, the weekend's biggest drama hovered near the playoff line.

Gotham FC fell to No. 2 San Diego 1-0 on Friday, sending the Bats skidding to No. 8 on a three-game winless streak while boxing No. 9 North Carolina out of playoff contention — despite the rising Courage securing their third win in four games with Saturday's 2-0 victory over last-place Chicago.

"Obviously, we were hot for a little bit, and teams have slumps all the time, so now it's just finding a way," Gotham midfielder Jaelin Howell said of the team's recent struggles.

While some rebuilds soar, last year's postseason contenders are still finding their way as the league moves into the second third of the 2025 season.

Indiana's 35-point blowout win over Chicago wasn't Saturday's only newsmaker, as a controversial foul on Sky forward Angel Reese by Fever guard Caitlin Clark sparked intense off-court conversations and a WNBA investigation into subsequent fan misconduct.

Clark's third-quarter foul against Reese incited a brief dust-up between the second-year stars, with Clark's offense upgraded to a Flagrant 1 while Reese and Fever center Aliyah Boston picked up a pair of offsetting technicals for their reactions.

"Basketball play. Refs got it right. Move on," Reese said after the game, while Clark told reporters, "It was just a good play on the basketball. I'm not sure what the ref saw to upgrade it, and that's up to their discretion."

Immediately following the flagrant ruling, however, Indiana fans allegedly directed racially charged remarks toward Reese, prompting the league to open an investigation on Sunday.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Officials acknowledged allegations of racist abuse inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, saying the WNBA "strongly condemns racism, hate, and discrimination in all forms," and that they're "looking into the matter."

"We stand firm in our commitment to providing a safe environment for all WNBA players," said Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Mel Raines, who oversees the Fever, in a statement.

"We will do everything in our power to protect Chicago Sky players, and we encourage the league to continue taking meaningful steps to create a safe environment for all WNBA players," echoed Sky CEO and president Adam Fox.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Fever-related fan misconduct has taken center stage, as last season's storylines start to spill over into the 2025 WNBA campaign.

In anticipation of the issue, the league launched "No Space for Hate" on Thursday, describing the campaign as "a multi-dimensional platform designed to combat hate and promote respect across all WNBA spaces — from online discourse to in-arena behavior."