Golden State Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry commented Tuesday about his upcoming three-point shooting contest against WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu.
Per ESPN’s Michael Voepel, Curry said the following about the exhibition, which will take place Saturday night in Indianapolis as part of the NBA All-Star festivities:
“You look for opportunities to just raise the bar on what it means to be a basketball fan. It’s an authentic competition between two great shooters who’ve had success in the 3-point Contest. However it plays out, this is what sports is about: competing.
“The attention and just the level of play growing [is] every single year [in the WNBA.] Then you cap that off with the fun and entertainment aspect of what happened at All Star Weekend and what Sabrina was able to do. With NBA All-Star weekend we can keep that the narrative going. It’s uncharted territory, and I think we’re both honored and privileged to be the first to do it.”
The competition figures to shine a much brighter spotlight on the WNBA than it typically receives, as Ionescu and Curry will do battle during the same event that features the NBA 3-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest.
Curry is regarded by many to be the greatest shooter in NBA history, as the four-time NBA champion and two-time NBA MVP is the league’s all-time leader with 3,631 three-pointers made and has made 42.7 percent of his career three-point attempts.
He is also a two-time winner of the NBA 3-Point Contest, and his score of 31 in 2021 is tied with Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton for the most ever in a round.
As good as Curry has been in the 3-Point Contest, Ionescu’s performance last year in the WNBA 3-Point Contest far exceeded even Steph’s best showing.
The New York Liberty star accrued 37 of a possible 40 points, crushing the previous WNBA 3-Point Contest record of 30. She also made a remarkable 20 shots in a row at one point.
Per Voepel, that showing prompted Ionescu to jokingly challenge Curry, but it ultimately led to a legitimate event that promises to captivate basketball fans on Saturday.
Ionescu realizes that she and Curry have a chance to influence the younger generation with their showdown Saturday, saying:
“There’s going to be a young kid who hasn’t maybe watched many WNBA games but is going to watch this, and they’re going to have that dream of one day maybe shooting against their idol. We’re a small piece of changing the narrative. This isn’t really scripted. This isn’t something we’re doing to try to check something off the box. We’re really excited for the opportunity. It’s really organic.”
While the initial plan was for Ionescu to shoot from the WNBA three-point line, which is 22 feet, 1 ¾ inches away from the basket, compared to 23 feet, 9 inches for the NBA, but she requested to shoot from NBA distance instead.
That means Ionescu and Curry will be on completely equal footing, and the winner will have undoubtedly earned it.
Simply getting the opportunity to go up against a future Hall of Famer like Curry is a huge deal for Ionescu and the WNBA as a whole, but if she can pull off the victory, it could go a long way toward further legitimizing the WNBA in the eyes of basketball fans and piquing their interest to watch it more regularly.