Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu to face off in three-point contest
Jan 30, 2024, 1:35 PM | Updated: 2:09 pm
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MARCH 07: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors competes in the 2021 NBA All-Star - MTN DEW 3-Point Contest during All-Star Sunday Night at State Farm Arena on March 07, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The NBA continues to be creative with the All-Star weekend events, announcing Tuesday that Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu will face off in the first NBA vs. WNBA three-point contest at Saturday’s games.
Curry is a two-time winner of the three-point contest. His first win came in 2017, where he managed 27 points in his best round, missing just five of his fifteen attempts including two ‘money balls’ which are worth two points each.
Curry’s most recent three-point contest victory came in 2021 with his highest-scoring round of 31 points — a new NBA record at that time. By then, the NBA had implemented two attempts, each worth three points, from deeper range, leaving more points up for grabs. Still, the widely viewed greatest shooter of all time converted 21 of his 27 shots in the competition.
Yet, he’s never managed a score like Ionescu did in 2023. She knocked down 25 of her 27 shots en route to 37 points. It was a record-setting performance across the WNBA and NBA, surpassing Curry’s 31.
Less than a year from that performance, Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu will face off at the 2024 NBA All-Star weekend. Given the variance in rules and regulations between the two leagues, there will be some variation in their runs.
Curry and Ionescu will each shoot with the ball and three-point line they have grown accustomed to.
For Curry, he will play with an NBA ball and a regulation three-point line. Meanwhile, Ionescu will use a respective WNBA ball and three-point line.
The NBA ball is slightly bigger than the WNBA, and their three-point line is further back. At the top of the key, the NBA three is 23 feet, nine inches while the WNBA line is 20 feet, six inches from the same mark.
Witnessing Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu, two of the elite shooters from their respective leagues, battle it out at 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend should be a fun, entertaining moment and could open the door to more creative crossovers between the two leagues.
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