The WNBA 3-point contest is coming back.
The league announced Wednesday that the contest will return this season and will take place during halftime of the WNBA All-Star Game, which will be played at KeyArena in Seattle on July 22 (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
"For fans, it's exciting to watch the 3-point contest," Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird said. "Not that it makes the game better ... but actually, it kind of does. Why not have it? I know when Seattle got the All-Star Game, this idea was brought up immediately. And I'm glad the right buttons got pushed to have it."
The event, which will feature six WNBA players to be named later, hasn't been held since 2009, when Becky Hammon won.
The contest will feature two timed rounds. Players will have one minute to make their way through five shooting locations around the 3-point arc. Four racks contain four WNBA balls, each worth one point, and one "money" ball worth two points. A fifth, all-money-ball rack will be placed at a location of each participant's choosing.
The three shooters with the highest scores in the first round will advance to the championship round.
For the first time, a $10,000 donation will be made to a charity of the winner's choice in support of her work in the community.
Bird expects the 3-point contest to bring out the competitor in everyone involved.
"I don't think anyone gets upset if they lose," Bird said, "but you're definitely going up there trying to win."