INDIANAPOLIS — Dwelling as much as web hype is hard. And Saturday’s first-of-its-kind 3-point showdown between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu had a lot of buzz main as much as it. Throughout the festivities of NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis, the query posed to seemingly each participant and particular person concerned, regardless of the venue and regardless of the occasion, was easy: “Steph or Sabrina?”
It took seconds into the competition to understand the hype was warranted.
Sabrina Ionescu opened the competition — wherein she opted to shoot from the NBA 3-point line — and missed simply as soon as within the first two racks, together with hitting all 5 of her cash ball makes an attempt on the opening one. She tallied 14 factors via the primary 10 pictures and completed with a rating of 26.
Steph Curry responded in type, saving his streak for the again half of the spherical. And he wanted each considered one of them, as his remaining shot on the ultimate rack — his chosen cash ball rack — gave him 28 factors, the victory and the inaugural 3-point champion belt.
“I noticed the primary rack, I believe she made the primary six, I imagine, perhaps seven. I used to be having flashbacks of watching this summer time,” Curry mentioned. “It doesn’t matter what competitors, whether or not it was this or the common 3-point competitors, we might have each superior to the subsequent spherical. So it added lots of stress, for positive.”
There was definitely already lots of stress and deal with the occasion. Each gamers got here in chilly, having not carried out earlier within the evening. Each had only one spherical to reside up to date.
And whereas that is coming mid-season for Curry, Ionescu is months away from her season even starting.
All that makes Ionescu’s efficiency from the bounce remarkably spectacular. It instantly energized the occasion and, in some ways, legitimized it.
Whereas the announcement of this showdown led to weeks of build-up, in actuality, this was for much longer within the making. Steph holds the file for factors within the NBA 3-point contest, scoring 31 of 40 on All-Star Saturday evening in 2021.
Sabrina, in the meantime, obliterated that file together with her beautiful displaying on the WNBA All-Star weekend, recording 37 of a potential 40 factors by hitting 25 of her final 26 pictures. It stands as the best efficiency in any skilled 3-point contest, WNBA or NBA.
In January, Steph somewhat coyly laid out the problem whereas mic’d up on TNT, with it quickly reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic as an occasion added to All-Star weekend.
The weeks of dialogue and debate that adopted led to the occasion feeling like the largest deal on one other evening the place All-Star Saturday was in any other case as soon as once more stuffed with duds.
Sabrina vs. Steph, although, didn’t observe the underwhelming script. The world was by no means louder on the night than it was after she blazed via her first 10 pictures. The group was by no means extra invested than it was in that occasion.
Ionescu was exceptional, matching the very best rating of the evening from any NBA participant within the contest. In truth, her 26 factors was precisely as many as Damian Lillard had in his remaining spherical to win the 3-point contest.
Sabrina Ionescu’s 26 would have tied for essentially the most any of the gamers within the 3-point contest hit of their first spherical.
— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) February 18, 2024
“Truthfully, simply completely satisfied that we had been capable of get on the market and begin capturing,” Ionescu mentioned. “Clearly there was lots of buildup to this and pleasure round it. So I used to be simply excited to have the ability to lastly have the chance to get on the market and simply shoot, to be sincere.”
The grander results of the evening was the doorways opened. And large image, it’s Sabrina’s phrases that may resonate longest.
The WNBA’s finest shooter went toe-to-toe with the best shooter of all time. The visible of Ionescu pushing Curry to the wire isn’t going to be forgotten by the necessary viewers it would attain.
“I believe the media has modified the dialog for little girls and boys watching us play, it doesn’t matter what fitness center you present as much as, don’t low cost who’s to your left and to your proper,” Curry mentioned. “If they’ll shoot, they’ll shoot. We are able to compete and have enjoyable. Hopefully we might be fashions of what that appears like on the largest stage.
“Long run, we’ll see,” Curry continued “She’s simply getting began on her profession, so I’ll let her converse to that. However we’ll proceed to search out superior methods to additional the dialog on how superb the ladies’s recreation is, getting the eyeballs on it and proceed to create vitality round it. This was a small step in that route.”
That final level feels extra related. The door is now broad open for future variations of this occasion.
Caitlin Clark’s identify was talked about greater than as soon as on the evening by these in attendance, assuming she enters the WNBA this spring.
Lillard captured his second straight 3-point contest title.
Steph Curry is able to run it again once more subsequent season.
“We’ve been speaking about discovering alternative ways to vary this up subsequent yr,” Ionescu mentioned. “I believe he has a companion in thoughts that’s going to hitch him. So I’m open to any companion that would assist me win and take that belt.”
Picture by Joe Murphy/NBAE through Getty Photographs
By dwelling as much as the hype on Saturday, Steph vs. Sabrina stole the present and set the stage for a doubtlessly greater future, on and off the courtroom.
“Clearly very grateful for everybody that’s type of helped make this dream we each had a chance,” Ionescu mentioned. “We’re very excited to see type of what the long run has to carry with extra folks having the chance to do stuff like this.”
