They say good things come in threes, and for the WNBA, good things come from the 3.
Younger players like Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark and Atlanta Dream’s Rhyne Howard are leading the charge of letting it fly.
Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark (22) shoots over Atlanta Dream’s Rhyne Howard (10) during the second half July 11, 2025, in Indianapolis.
Witness Howard, who broke Fever great Tamika Catchings’ 3-point record (76) from 2002 with 85 in 2022. Just a few years later, Clark surpassed that mark with 122 3-pointers in 2024.
This season, Howard reached 300 career 3-pointers faster than any player in league history, hitting the mark in 114 career games and becoming the second youngest to achieve this milestone, just three days behind Phoenix Mercury legend Diana Taurasi.
Long-distance revolution
The ongoing arms race is a testament to how much the 29-year-old league has evolved.
In fact, all but one of the top 10 single-season totals for 3-pointers have come from the past three seasons. The outlier? Taurasi in 2006 with 121.
The days of dominating the paint and creating a heavy post presence aren’t so common now, with more teams opting to go the distance.
New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu has a tenuous hold on the all-time, single-season record for 3-pointers.
Her 128 3s in 2023 were an impressive feat, but as the league continues to expand its schedule and more teams opt for 3s, it likely won’t remain the all-time mark for long.
Throughout the years, the WNBA has undergone significant changes, from expansion to contraction and then expansion again. And the league has steadily added games since its inception in 1997.
In 2024, WNBA players shot 339.7% more 3s than in the league’s inaugural season in 1997, going from 843 to a whopping 3,707 3s.
On top of that, eight of the top 20 single-season 3-point totals by players were from 2024 alone.
Even with fewer teams than in the past — and therefore fewer players — there are now more individuals making 3-pointers than their predecessors.
The changing landscape
From 2000-02, the WNBA had the most teams it’s ever had with 16, doubling the amount since its inception.
When the league expanded from 12 teams in 1999 to 16 in 2000, players shot 30% more 3-pointers.
If you compare the 3-point shooting to today’s standards, last year’s total of 3,707 is 62.3% more than the highest single-season total with 16 teams, which was 2,284 in 2002. And last year’s total came from four fewer teams.
Players were still figuring out the 3-point shot in the early 2000s, and when the Miami Sol and Portland Fire folded in 2003, 3-point shooting volume went down 5.2%.
It hasn’t always been an uphill climb since the 2000s, as the 2010s had some peaks and valleys. In 2014, players combined for 1,884 3s, the lowest total since 1999.
The 25.9% decrease was shocking, considering in 2012, players combined for a then-record high of 2,545 3-point attempts.
‘The Bubble’ case study
The number of teams and games play a factor in the explosion of 3-pointers, but 2020 is a good season to analyze the trend.
The schedule has steadily increased since 1997, except for 2020 and 2021, when the league was reeling from the pandemic.
Yes, 3-pointers were down in 2020, but in those 22 games, there were 107.3% more attempts in 2020 than in 28 games in 1997. Players also hit 128.8% more 3s.
What the 2025 season
says so far
With the current season on a brief pause for the All-Star break, it’s a great time to examine how teams have prioritized the 3-point shot over the last 290 games.
In the first half of the season, teams have combined for 2,338 made 3-pointers, which is more than the entire totals from 1997-2005, 2011, 2013-2016 and 2020. It’s also more than the 1997 and 1998 season totals combined.
The Minnesota Lynx lead all teams with 224 3s, followed by the Mercury’s 219.
Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams celebrates a made 3-pointer against the Phoenix Mercury during the second half July 9, 2025, in Phoenix.
Feeling more comfortable
More players are making shots from downtown, and they’re more comfortable taking those shots.
It’s relatively new for a WNBA team to eclipse the 1,000-mark in 3-point attempts, as the New York Liberty were the first team to do so with 1,187 in 2023.
But in the next year, the number of teams with 1,000 or more attempts ballooned to six of the 12 teams. The 10,962 3-point attempts were 306.9% higher than in 1997.
Who wins it all?
Is the secret to winning the championship to be the team with the most 3-pointers? Not necessarily.
In their championship season in 2024, the Liberty led the league in 3-pointers made and attempted, with 3s accounting for 35.5% of their scoring. However, the championship team isn’t determined by the most 3s.
Of the 28 title-winning teams, only six have led the league in 3-pointers. Before the Liberty, there were the Washington Mystics in 2019, the Seattle Storm in 2018, the Phoenix Mercury in 2007 and 2009 and the Houston Comets in 1997 and 1998.
However, with the trends favoring the 3, there could be more championship-winning teams with the best 3-point shooting.
