INDIANAPOLIS – Sabrina Ionescu has upped the ante in her historic three-point contest against Stephen Curry, and the public has continued to back the record-setting Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star.
The “Stephen vs Sabrina” contest will be televised on TNT and pit the National Basketball Association’s all-time leader in three-pointers made against the New York Liberty star, who shot 44.8 per cent from long distance in the WNBA last season.
Ionescu was originally going to shoot from the WNBA three-point line of 20 feet, 6 inches (6.25m), but has instead chosen to match Curry from the NBA distance of 23 feet, 9 inches when the two square off in the first such competition between WNBA and NBA stars during All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis.
“Personally, I shoot from (men’s) range, to begin with, I practise from that range,” she said.
“Knowing that I had the opportunity to pick what line I wanted to shoot from, it was a no-brainer that I wanted to shoot from the NBA line and prove that we’re capable and we’re willing. It’s not something that took a lot of convincing and knowing I wanted to equal the playing field.”
Ionescu, 26, won the WNBA’s three-point contest in 2023 with a record 37 points. Fellow American Curry, 35, is a two-time winner of the NBA’s three-point contest, victorious in 2015 and 2021.
The Golden State Warriors star is a career 42.7 per cent shooter from beyond the arc.
Ionescu grew up in northern California and the two have engaged in pick-up-style games over the past few years. Ionescu won a game of H.O.R.S.E. between the two last year and, after her record-setting performance at the WNBA’s three-point contest, Curry challenged her to a shoot-out on social media.
“We’ve competed a couple times, obviously never on this stage,” Ionescu said. “But I feel like we’ve always been competing and being able to keep up with one another from afar.”
On Feb 16, Victor Wembanyama’s hopes of victory in the NBA All-Star week’s Rising Stars tournament came to an abrupt end as his team suffered an upset 41-36 defeat in the semi-finals.
The San Antonio Spurs rookie spearheaded a strong line-up coached by Spanish legend Pau Gasol who many tipped to cruise into the final.
But their opponents – coached by Germany’s three-time NBA All-Star Detlef Schrempf and drawn from the NBA’s G-League development league – tore up the script with a deserved win in the first-to-40 semi-final.
But they lost in the final, as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams hit the game-winning shot, lifting Team Jalen over Team Detlef 26-13. REUTERS, AFP
