Two of the best 3-point shooters in basketball history are set to go head-to-head to determine who is really the best on the court right now.
Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu will face off Saturday at 8 p.m. ET at the NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis in the first 3-point challenge between the NBA and the WNBA.
The special long-distance shootout will pit two of the best to ever do it directly against each other for the first time.
Curry, a point guard for the Golden State Warriors who has made more 3-point shots than anyone else to ever play in NBA, called the competition “uncharted territory,” according to NBA.com.
Ionescu, a guard for the New York Liberty who similarly excels at the 3-point line, set the record for most 3-point shots made in a single season last year. She also holds the title for best 3-point contest performance in NBA or WNBA history at last year’s WNBA All-Star Weekend.
She said Saturday’s contest is a “pinch-me moment,” NBA.com reported.
“I don’t think either of us know the gravity and magnitude this could take on,” she said in a Zoom call, NBA.com reported. “We’re just excited to be able to do this.”
The idea to have Curry and Ionescu face each other came about after Ionescu’s stellar performance at last year’s WNBA 3-point contest, in which she scored 37 points on 25-of-27 shooting, according to NBA.com, and squashed Curry’s contest record of 31 points.
According to the NBA, the pair already had a friendship.
“This is what sports is about, competing. … You look for opportunities to raise the bar,” Curry said, according to the NBA.
Curry reportedly called Ionescu’s 3-point performance in July “ridiculous,” NBA.com reported. Just last month, he brought it up again to Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski.
The NBA posted a clip of their conversation on X.
“I think I gotta bring her out. … We gotta settle this once and for all,” Curry said, seeming to challenge Ionescu to a contest at the 3-point line.
“I think I gotta challenge her,” he said. “It’d be lit.”
Just over 30 minutes later, Ionescu said she was game.
“Let’s getttttt it!!” she replied. “See ya at the 3 pt line @StephenCurry30.”
How it will work
“Stephen vs. Sabrina” will follow regular Starry 3-Point Contest rules, the NBA said. The rules are as follows:
There will be four ball racks, each with four game balls, worth 1 point each, and one money ball, worth 2 points, the NBA said. A fifth rack will feature all money balls.
There will also be two Starry Range shots, each worth 3 points, according to the NBA.
Curry will take his shots from the NBA 3-point line using NBA basketballs, while Ionescu will shoot from the WNBA line using WNBA balls.
Both Curry’s nonprofit organization, Eat. Learn. Play., and Ionescu’s SI20 Foundation will receive donations from the NBA and the WNBA as a part of the competition, the NBA said.
On top of that, State Farm will donate money to the NBA Foundation to “support economic empowerment in the Black community” for every shot made by either player.
State Farm will donate $1,000 for every regular 3-point shot made, $2,000 for every money ball made and $3,000 for every Starry Range shot that makes it into the basket.
