After Kyrie Irving’s Snub, Klay Thompson Turns His Back on Steph Curry and Picks Sabrina Ionescu for Much Awaited 3-Pt Contest

Shubham Singh | 13/02/2024
After Kyrie Irving's Snub, Klay Thompson Turns His Back on Steph Curry and Picks Sabrina Ionescu for Much Awaited 3-Pt Contest

The Sabrina Ionescu vs Stephen Curry NBA All-Star Three-Point showdown has garnered widespread attention amongst their peers. Golden State Warriors Shooting Guard Klay Thompson also joined the fray of NBA players who have announced their pick between the two. Like Kyrie Irving, Klay has also picked WNBA star Ionescu at the expense of his long-time teammate and fellow Splash Bro. As someone who has played in the Bay Area for more than a decade, the four-time NBA Champion backed the Bay Area’s prodigy.

In a video posted by the official Instagram handle of the NBA, Thompson revealed his pick for the highly-anticipated event. He touched upon Ionescu’s 37/40-point performance during WNBA’s 2023 All-Star Three-Point Contest. Meanwhile, Stephen Curry’s highest and also the NBA’s highest three-point contest score is 31 out of 40.

Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Alluding to this disparity, Thompson had fun at Steph’s expense. He blatantly expressed, ”I got the Bay Area’s finest Sabrina all day! Since she set a record last year, I think she missed one.” When asked if she is better than Steph, Thompson turned his back on his backcourt mate and hilariously stated, “Yeah, oh yeah, all day.”

 

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Meanwhile, Kyrie Irving Irving alluded to the shorter three-point line in the WNBA and expressed how shooting from a shorter distance than Steph aids Sabrina. However, he gave major props to her for hitting 37 points regardless of the distance. Irving also picked Ionescu as his choice. He opined, “I’m pulling for Sabrina. No disrespect to you Steph, I love you, big bro. But same time, you know, she got the record, and like she’s coming to defend her title and you’re coming into the competitive table to see if you’re gonna win. So, it’s gonna be interesting.”

It’s pretty clear that Thompson is either trolling or trying to motivate his Dubs partner before the showdown. While the NBA community heaps a wave of expectations on Steph, Klay is probably making sure that the two-time MVP doesn’t take it easy during the contest.

Klay and Kai’s former teammate Kevin Durant had also given his thoughts on the matter. He has done a rather flip-flop show thus far.

Kevin Durant picks Steph, then Sabrina, and now Steph again

Initially, reporter Leigh Ellis had asked KD who he believes will win the contest. In response, Durant stated, “I’m going Steph. Sorry Sabrina, you can shoot, but not against the greatest.” Then Ellis asked Steph who he believed KD picked. To which Steph incorrectly predicted, “Knowing him[KD], he’s an instigator. I’m sure he picked her” 

After learning about Steph’s comments about him, KD hilariously switched sides. He reacted, “I[KD] can’t believe u would call me an instigator, Stephen. I’m taking Sabrina [Ionescu].”  Recently, however, when he was once again asked who he backs to win it all, Durant switched sides again. He also made a joke at his expense as someone who has asked for trades repeatedly and has changed teams.

“I said Steph first and then Steph kind of disrespected me and called me an instigator, so I went with Sabrina. But I’m going to go back to Steph. You know how I like to switch,” quipped Kevin Durant

The Forward’s wit has made it difficult to judge who he backs to win the competition. However, initially, he did call Curry “the greatest” shooter which means that in the end, he backs his former teammate. Meanwhile, Durant’s former and Steph’s current teammate Draymond Green is backing Curry. Green expressed, “I got Steph, the greatest ever for a reason!” 

At any rate, in a few days, hoops fans are going to witness one of the most prolific events. Both sharpshooters are at the top of their league shooting-wise, and no matter who wins, many will witness what Draymond termed as the “best of both worlds“.

Post Edited By: Satagni Sikder

About the author

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Shubham Singh

Shubham Singh is an NBA Journalist at SportsRush. He found his passion in Writing when he couldn't fulfil his dream of playing professional basketball. Shubham is obsessed with box scores and also loves to keep track of advanced stats and is, particularly, fond of writing CoreSport analytical pieces. In the league, his all time favorites were 80s Bad Boys, Pistons, while Dennis Rodman and his enthralling rebounding made him love the game more. It also made him realize that the game is much more than fancy scoring and playmaking. Shubham is also a huge fan of cricket and loves to watch all forms of women sports.

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