The NBA All-Star weekend is around the corner, and fans couldn’t be more excited to see their favorite players show up in Indiana. Over the past few years, the All-Star weekend’s three-point contest has gained a lot of traction. But this year it is slated to break the glass ceiling of long-range sharpshooting.
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The NBA’s greatest shooter of all time – Stephen Curry, will be taking on the WNBA’s best shooter – Sabrina Ionescu in a ‘battle of the sexes’ kind of three-point contest of their own. In a first-of-a-kind matchup between the two premier talents, the event is expected to be the highlight of the weekend. So before the competition, here is a look at the participants’ best shooting seasons in their respective leagues.
Stephen Curry (2020-21 season)
Steph Curry is the undisputed King of three-point shooting in the history of the NBA, currently standing tall with 3,624 threes made in his career at an average of 42.7%. Curry’s highest threes made per game in a season came in 2020-21, when he averaged 5.3 made threes while attempting 12.7 per game. His average shooting percentage for the season stood at 42.1%.
When we look at the totals, the two-time league MVP attempted 801 threes in the 2020-21 season and managed to knock down 337. His season-high was 11 threes in a game, which he achieved four times during the season. His career-best stands at 13 threes against the New Orleans Pelicans in 2016.
The Dubs superstar’s highest number of threes attempted in 2020-21 was 22 against the Memphis Grizzlies, while the best shooting percentage came against the Detroit Pistons at 75%, shooting 6 of 8 from deep. Curry ended the season with 32 points per game and claimed the NBA’s scoring title.
Sabrina Ionescu (2023 season)
Sabrina Ionescu has been lighting up the WNBA with her long-distance shooting, and the 2023 season saw her taking a substantial jump over the previous seasons. Playing in her fourth season for the New York Liberty, the player averaged career-best numbers in three-point shooting. Of the 36 games played, Ionescu averaged a whopping 44.8% from the three-point line, making a career-high 3.6 threes while attempting 7.9 threes per game.
The WNBA player attempted 286 threes last year and managed to knock down 128 of them. The highest in the history of the league. On the 9th of June, Ionescu made a career-high 37 points, hitting a career-best eight threes in a game against the Atlanta Dream. She also attempted a season-high 14 threes in a game against the Indiana Fever. Her best three-point percentage of the season came against the Minnesota Lynx, where she scored 3 out of 4 at an astonishing 75% shooting. Her shooting prowess saw her ending the season with 17.0 points per game.
With so much shooting talent amongst both the players, it is difficult to guess who would end up winning the three-point contest. However, it is certainly going to be the highlight of the weekend, and we are all here for it.
