Stephen Curry, Sabrina Ionescu talk impact of 3-point contest

Sabrina Ionescu grew up in the Bay Area in California and enjoyed going to Golden State Warriors games, especially to watch Stephen Curry. When Ionescu was a senior at Oregon in 2020, Curry brought his daughters, Riley and Ryan, to one of the Ducks’ games at Cal.

But on Saturday in Indianapolis, Ionescu, the New York Liberty‘s star guard, gets to do something she never imagined: compete against Curry in a 3-point shooting contest at NBA All-Star weekend. The competition was announced last month, and Ionescu and Curry appeared on a video call with media Tuesday to discuss it.

Curry is a two-time winner of the NBA’s 3-point challenge (2015, 2021). Ionescu won the 3-point contest last July at the WNBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas, scoring 37 of a possible 40 points. It broke Curry’s record of 31 points and was an internet sensation, as Ionescu at one point hit 20 shots in a row.

Ionescu jokingly sent out a challenge to Curry on social media afterward, and then the two spoke to each other. Their conversation was the genesis of this event. Both said it shows the connection between the NBA and WNBA.

Ionescu, 26, said while there might still be basketball fans who are dismissive of the WNBA, events like this represent the mutual respect between the two leagues’ players.

“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,” Ionescu said. “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.”

It was initially announced that Ionescu would shoot from the WNBA’s shorter 3-point line, which is set at 22 feet, 1 3/4 inches at the top of the key, compared with the NBA’s 23 feet, 9 inches. But Ionescu requested to shoot from the NBA line, the same as Curry.

“Personally, I shoot from that range to begin with,” Ionescu said of the NBA line. “I practice from that range in wanting to just be a better shooter, a better basketball player and get better as a whole. It was a no-brainer from when it was first presented that I wanted to shoot from the NBA line. And continue to just prove that we’re capable, and we’re willing. Very thankful that I was given that opportunity, and I’m gonna capitalize on it.”

Curry, 35, has long been a proponent of the WNBA, and the Warriors will have a WNBA expansion franchise that begins play in 2025.

“You look for opportunities to just raise the bar on what it means to be a basketball fan,” Curry said. “It’s an authentic competition between two great shooters who’ve had success in the 3-point…