The 2024 NBA All-Star festivities will commence at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday. Arguably, the most highly-anticipated event on Day 1 is the three-point shooting contest between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu. The WNBA superstar set the record in the three-point shooting contest in 2023 with 37 and then challenged Curry on X, formerly called Twitter, and he accepted it. Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless gave his two cents on Curry and Ionescu’s shooting battle.
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He said,
“I watched her WNBA shootout, where she set the record and I was just blown away… I watched her shatter Steph’s [NBA] record of 31 points in a round of shooting because she made 20 in a row. Now that was from the WNBA line… From the WNBA line, she’s shooting 45%. Steph is a little under his average this year and isn’t quite as hot and sharp.”
Bayless also noted that in the 2019 All-Star game in Curry’s hometown, Charlotte, he lost the three-point shooting contest final against Joe Harris. The analyst claimed that the Golden State Warriors star has flamed out when put under pressure, citing the 2016 NBA Finals as an example. For all the reasons above, Bayless picked Ionescu to beat Curry in their duel on Saturday.
The analyst made his pick based on the assumption that Ionescu would shoot from the WNBA three-point line, which is a foot shorter than the NBA’s arc. However, that’s not the case. Ionescu was offered to choose where she’d shoot from and opted for the NBA distance, claiming that’s the line she shoots from during practice. Her decision is commendable, but it also gives the edge to Curry, who has substantially more hours of practice from that range.
Klay Thompson picks Sabrina Ionescu, while Kevin Durant flip-flops
Stephen Curry is heading into battle against Sabrina Ionescu without the backing of his Splash Brother, Klay Thompson. The Warriors icon was asked to pick the winner of the three-point shooting contest between the two, and he replied,
“I’ve got the Bay Area’s finest—Sabrina all day.”
Ionescu plays for the WNBA’s New York Liberty but was born and raised in Contra Costa County in the Bay Area. Curry has spent his entire career in the Bay Area, playing for the Warriors, but is a Charlotte, North Carolina native.
While Curry doesn’t have Thompson’s support, he has former teammate Kevin Durant‘s backing to win the shootout. The Phoenix Suns star first picked Curry to win the award before switching to Ionescu. However, he has seemingly decided to stick to Curry. He said,
“I’m going Steph. I said Steph first, then Steph kind of like disrespected me, calling me an instigator so I went Sabrina, But I’ll go back to Steph. You know how I like to switch.”
The battle between Curry and Ionescu will be historic. It’ll be the first-ever crossover competition between an active NBA and WNBA superstar. This could set a precedent and become a marquee annual attraction during the All-Star weekend. Unsurprisingly, the battle between the two sharpest shooters in their respective leagues is the weekend’s most-anticipated event.
