Aliyah Boston called her shot.<\/p>\n
Not a shot of Ruthian significance, in that there was no championship trophy hanging in the balance, but a shot that still came with loads of bragging rights inside the Indiana Fever organization.<\/p>\n
As Boston approached midcourt at the end of the Fever\u2019s practice late last month, preparing to take that afternoon\u2019s half-court shot, she voiced a proclamation: \u201cIt\u2019s my day today.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped at the center circle. Mimicked her follow-through and fired away. She sank her attempt, leapt six times with childlike enthusiasm, then curtsied before nonchalantly walking away. \u201cCarry on,\u201d she told her teammates.<\/p>\n
All around the WNBA, teams finish shootarounds similarly. As a last act of preparation to close shootarounds \u2014 or practice on the day before a game, if day-of shootaround is cancelled \u2014 franchises routinely hold a half-court shooting competition. No league-wide custom consistently brings out as much team levity, with clips of contests (and their ensuing celebrations) shared on social media nearly daily.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe half-court shot is just a WNBA tradition at this point,\u201d Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally said. \u201cIt\u2019s just fun, like a little icebreaker.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are house rules. For some teams, it\u2019s a one-round competition; miss and you\u2019re out. Other teams might give players multiple chances, but only to those who hit the rim. Shooting order varies by team as does player form, however, everyone does it for the same reasons: It brings out competition and camaraderie, with a little cash \u2014 almost always $100 \u2014 at stake.<\/p>\n
Pure comedy \ud83d\ude02 It gets real competitive when it comes to the halfcourt shot contest \ud83c\udfaf pic.twitter.com\/jXrIhJCMiJ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 New York Liberty (@nyliberty) July 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cOur group really gets excited about it,\u201d Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts said. \u201cThey like to talk s\u2014 to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n When first-year Los Angeles Sparks coach Lynne Roberts took the job after a decade at the University of Utah, she was unaware that she would have to ante up $100 before every game. But it didn\u2019t take long for players to inform Roberts of the league-wide ritual.<\/p>\n \u201c(The players) let me know real early it was not negotiable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n It was fitting. The tradition dates to at least one of Roberts\u2019 predecessors in Los Angeles. Though the half-court shooting contests\u2019 exact origins are unknown, WNBA veterans frequently link the tradition to two former WNBA coaches who once played in the NBA: Michael Cooper, who was a WNBA head coach for a dozen years, beginning with the Sparks in 2000, and Bill Laimbeer, who coached the first of his 15 WNBA seasons in 2002. Cooper was part of the earliest reported mentions of the WNBA tradition. At the \u201902 All-Star Game, he handed a $100 bill to Lauren Jackson as the future three-time WNBA MVP won the half-court competition at that year\u2019s showcase.<\/p>\n When Becky Hammon played guard for the Liberty in the early 2000s, Indiana Pacers star-turned-broadcaster Reggie Miller would come to New York shootarounds as part of his telecast prep. He would often challenge Hammon to one-on-one half-court shooting contests. Hammon said sometimes as much as $800 was on the line. \u201cI used to take all his money,\u201d she said recently.<\/p>\n But now, Hammon, the Aces coach since 2022, is the one who is paying out of pocket. Coaches are almost always the ones who ante up the money.<\/p>\n \u201cIt starts to get expensive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n It is a small price to pay to spark these moments of joy.<\/p>\n Since 2002, WNBA revenue has ballooned and the maximum player salary has increased from around $80,000 to around $250,000. But the standard half-court cash award has remained more modest. Yet there are outliers.<\/p>\n Cierra Burdick, who played for six teams from 2015 to 2021, recalled winning a half-court contest in the WNBA\u2019s 2020 bubble season in which the Aces\u2019 MGM ownership put up $1,000 to whoever sank that day\u2019s shot. \u201cIt made my entire week, probably even my entire month,\u201d she said. Burdick\u2019s winnings helped finance a week-long family trip to North Carolina\u2019s Outer Banks.<\/p>\n Other traditions have developed about how to handle winning. The Chicago Sky\u2019s Bec Allen immediately tucks her winnings under her compression shorts whenever she wins from midcourt. She then puts her money toward meals as Chicago\u2019s pot multiplies, according to the number of consecutive victories the team has recorded. Sparks guard Julie Allemand deposits her winnings in her bank account. Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu has a stack of cash that builds in her locker. It\u2019s as good a reminder of her shooting prowess as is the 3-point contest trophy she just took home from All-Star weekend.<\/p>\n The competition has spread globally as well. Ionescu\u2019s coach, Sandy Brondello, also coaches the Australian national team and finishes Opals shootaround with a half-court contest. Former Washington Mystics coach Mike Thibault brought the routine to the Belgian national team this summer during the country\u2019s EuroBasket title-winning run.<\/p>\n But as women\u2019s basketball half-court shootouts have expanded, one WNBA franchise veered away from the ritual. First-year Atlanta Dream coach Karl Smesko created a new game to end shootarounds. One-hundred dollars is still on the line. But \u201cCash Out or Crash Out\u201d requires players to shoot 3-pointers from five spots around the arc. Miss one and you\u2019re eliminated. Make all five and win. (In the case of multiple players going 5 of 5, players have the option to split the winnings or keep playing until there\u2019s a winner.)<\/p>\n Prize pot got split 5 ways today! \ud83e\udd11#DoItForTheDream<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/CPvFzo4nsM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) June 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great and really translates to the game,\u201d Dream forward Naz Hillmon said.<\/p>\n In truth, the competition isn\u2019t about directly preparing for games. That comes earlier in shootaround. It can be about the banter and bragging that comes with victories, just as Tibbetts said.<\/p>\n When Fever star guard Caitlin Clark notched a rare contest victory in mid-June, she took off her practice jersey, a la a soccer star scoring a game-winning goal, and started twirling it overhead as she ran out of the gym. Teammates booed as she exited. Clark isn\u2019t among Indiana\u2019s top shooters from midcourt, though, so when she does nail a shot, her teammates hear about it.<\/p>\n \u201cI hate when Caitlin makes it because she just gloats about it way too much for me,\u201d Indiana guard Lexie Hull said.<\/p>\n CC locked in \ud83d\udd12<\/p>\n Caitlin Clark wins the halfcourt shot contest after practice today. pic.twitter.com\/Ok948G7T1B<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) June 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Seattle Storm guard Skylar Diggins has implemented a mandatory team rule: to claim the day\u2019s winnings, the player must first dance. But no Storm player has had to break out a move more than Diggins, who is Seattle\u2019s top midcourt shooter.<\/p>\n Unlike Diggins, the tradition often humbles some of the game\u2019s biggest stars. Diggins\u2019 teammate, Nneka Ogwumike, doesn\u2019t even participate in Seattle\u2019s post-practice contests because Ogwumike is not confident in her form. And while Aces star A\u2019ja Wilson is elite at almost everything on the court, the three-time MVP is Las Vegas\u2019 worst half-court shooter.<\/p>\n \u201cBy a lot,\u201d Hammon said.<\/p>\n \u201cI suck at it,\u201d Wilson confirmed.<\/p>\n A\u2019nd that\u2019s on period \ud83e\udd11\ud83d\udc85<\/p>\n It\u2019s @_ajawilson22<\/a>\u2019s celly for us \ud83d\ude02<\/p>\n Shoot Your Shot presented by Southern Nevada @Buick<\/a> Dealers#ALLINLV<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/pYHNzok0ql<\/a><\/p>\n