Curry Bests Ionescu in All Star 3-Point Shootout

This NBA All Star Weekend Stephen Curry beat New York Liberty WNBA superstar Sabrina Ionescu in the first ever 3-point shootout between an NBA player and a WNBA player. It was undoubtedly one of the top spectacles of the weekend overall and should set up a fun, new event moving forward where players from both leagues compete against one another.

The NBA’s three-point shootout took place directly before this event and in the finals the top score was 26 as Damian Lillard won his second consecutive three-point contest. Sabrina Ionescu scored 26 in the one-round showdown between her and Curry. However, Stephen Curry scored 29 points and ultimately won.

Sabrina Ionescu is a WNBA player and normally would shoot from their three-point line which is about a couple feet shorter. For this event against Stephen Curry she shot from the NBA three-point line. Her score of 26 would have tied Lillard in the NBA contest finals.

It was an extremely impressive showing from both Curry and Ionescu but arguably even more impressive from Ionescu was how she handled the pressure with ease. If she was shooting from the WNBA line it likely would have been a completely different outcome. Just last year when competing in the WNBA three-point shootout she scored a record 37 and made 21-straight at one point.

Sabrina Ionescu is one of the top players in the WNBA but she has opened up a gate for WNBA players to take part in other events outside of the league. In the future we may see more WNBA players featured at All Star weekend in various ways.

Next year the NBA All Star Weekend is in San Francisco, Stephen Curry’s home court. We could see a rematch between the two or even more players added to a similar event.

Also, next year Iowa’s Caitlin Clark will be in the WNBA and could be a great addition to this new event that pegs players against each other one-on-one. She has been called the best women’s college basketball player ever and can shoot the lights out.

The NBA All Star Weekend events left most fans underwhelmed outside of the Curry and Ionescu showdown. Possibly in the future we will see more of these challenge events with more players from both the NBA and the WNBA.

By Jack Stradley, I’m a sports writer always looking for a gripping story and a hot take.