All-time NBA 3-point leader Steph Curry will battle WNBA star and Walnut Creek native Sabrina Ionescu in a 3-point shooting contest during the NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis on Feb. 17, the league announced.
It will be the first time an NBA player and WNBA player face off in the 3-point challenge.
Curry is a two-time 3-point challenge winner (2015, 2021). During the 2023 WNBA All-Star 3-point contest, New York Liberty star Ionescu scored a record 37 (25-of-27) points to break Curry’s record of 31. After breaking the record, Ionescu challenged Curry to the head-to-head. Curry hinted at an All-Star weekend challenge while mic’d up talking to rookie Brandin Podziemski before the Warriors’ game against the Sacramento Kings last week.
Ionescu accepted the challenge on social media. While the rules stipulate that Ionescu will be shooting from the WNBA 3-point line that is a foot and nine inches shorter to the basket than the NBA 3-point line, Ionescu said on social media she would like to break the rules and shoot from the NBA 3-point line during the contest.
Ionescu is a two-time WNBA All-Star guard who set a single-season 3-point record with the New York Liberty in 2023. The 26-year-old Walnut Creek native was the top-ranked guard coming out of Miramonte High School in 2016.
Curry was left off the All-Star starter roster for the first time in a fully healthy season. Curry, 35, has been named an All-Star starter in all nine of his previous nine All-Star appearances and still has a shot to make the Western Conference squad as a reserve.
Related Articles
Golden State WNBA team has named its president
NBA trade deadline: What do the Warriors need, and what can they do?
Foul issues in spotlight for Golden State Warriors as free throw-happy 76ers await
Steph Curry, LeBron James add another chapter to historic rivalry they hope won’t end
Draymond Green returns to Warriors’ starting lineup, but this time it looks different
Brandin Podziemski
Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski will join Curry in Indianapolis as part of the All-Star weekend’s Rising Stars Challenge. The league invites 28 young players — 21 rookies and sophomores, and seven NBA G League players — to be split into four teams and participate in a tournament. Four former NBA players will draft four teams from the player pool to compete.
Podziemski is averaging 9.2 points per game shooting 46.2% from the field and 38.8% from 3 in his rookie year. He was drafted as the 19th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft out of Santa Clara.
+ There are no comments
Add yours