Stephen Curry will enter the Basketball Hall of Fame as the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history. Although Sabrina Ionescu is still early in her career, she is already establishing herself as one of the best three-point shooters in the WNBA.
It looks like basketball fans are on track to see the two face off in a three-point contest. Curry and Ionescu will reportedly face off at the NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis. according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. All-Star weekend will be February 16-18.
A competition of this type between the two basketball stars has been hinted at for some time. Ionescu tweeted at Curry on July 15 after setting a record with 37 points in the WNBA All-Star 3-Point Contest last summer, suggesting the two would face off.
Shoot? @StephenCurry30
—Sabrina Ionescu (@sabrina_i20) July 15, 2023
Curry accepted the challenge shortly after he posted it.
“I have to go after Sabrina’s record, so I have something to shoot for now that she went crazy with 37 points on All-Star weekend.” Curry said on ESPN on July 17. “So I guess we have to figure that out for sure: Who is the best 3-point shooter in the competition?”
Then, on Thursday, January 25, Curry asked Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski if he knew who held the record for 3-Point Contest points, to which Podziemski responded, correctly, with Ionescu.
“I think I have to take her out and say, ‘We have to settle this once and for all,'” Curry told Podziemski. “I think I have to challenge her. It would be on.”
“We have to resolve this once and for all.”@StephenCurry30 challenging @sabrina_i20 To a 3-point shootout? ? pic.twitter.com/3QvGnRL4bK
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 26, 2024
There are still many details about the event that have yet to be announced, such as at what rank the 3-Point Contest would take place or if it would be adjusted for each player. NBA players shoot from 22 feet in the corners and 23 feet, 9 inches elsewhere. The WNBA 3-point line is set at 20 feet, 6 inches wide.
Stephen Curry Statistics
The two players are at different stages of their careers. Curry, 35, is in the middle of his 15th NBA season. He is a nine-time All-Star, two-time scoring champion, two-time MVP and four-time NBA champion.
Curry’s career will be most notable for his 3-point prowess, but he is a versatile talent, capable of scoring from anywhere and impacting the game in several different ways.
Here’s a look at Curry’s career stats:
| GRAM | FG-FGA (FG%) | 3P-3PA (3P%) | FT-FTA (FT%) | PPG | APG | role playing game | AAP | BPG |
| 921 | 7,767-16,397 (47.4%) | 3,568-8,372 (42.6%) | 3,656-4,019 (91.0%) | 24.7 | 6.4 | 4.7 | 1.6 | 0.2 |
Stephen Curry’s three-point shot
Curry has already established himself as the best three-point shooter in NBA history. He has led the league in three-pointers made seven times in his career and holds the career record for three-pointers made with 3,568 and three-point attempts (8,372). The next closest is Ray Allen with 2,973, a difference of 595.
Curry has also had notable success in his career making three-point shots efficiently with a 42.6 percent success rate. In NBA history, only Kyle Korver (42.9 percent) can surpass Curry’s efficiency among players who have attempted at least 4,000 three-pointers in his career. according to stathead.
Part of what makes Curry so dangerous (and effective in a 3-point contest) is that he can make shots from virtually anywhere on the court. This season, he has especially made money shooting from the wing.
While he doesn’t attempt as many corner threes as he does wing shots, Curry has success when shooting from the corners, with success rates above 55.0 percent from both sides.
Curry has won two 3-point contests, just one shy of the record shared by Larry Bird and Craig Hodges. Curry’s wins came in the 2014-15 and 2020-21 campaigns. He made 27 of 34 shots in his first win and 28 of 40 in his second win.
Curry held the record with 31 points scored in a three-point contest, which had been the record until 2023.
Sabrina Ionescu statistics
Ionescu is still in the early stages of her WNBA career, although it’s hard to get off to a better start than the one she’s had. She is a two-time All-Star and has electrified fans with her ability to shoot from anywhere on the court and being a constant triple-double threat.
Here’s a look at his impressive career so far:
| GRAM | FG-FGA (FG%) | 3P-3PA (3P%) | FT-FTA (FT%) | PPG | APG | role playing game | AAP | BPG |
| 105 | 538-1,314 (40.9%) | 272-721 (37.7%) | 298-328 (90.9%) | 15.7 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 0.9 | 0.3 |
Sabrina Ionescu three-point shot
Ionescu has had a good start to his career shooting from long range. She has already made 272 3-pointers, which ranks fourth among WNBA players through the first four seasons of their careers, behind Diana Taurasi (334), Katie Smith (287) and Kelsey Mitchell (275). by Stathead. He also played only three games in 2020 due to an ankle injury.
Ionescu’s three-point shooting is much improved in 2023 compared to his first two full seasons in the league. He made just 32.5 percent and 33.3 percent of his 3-point attempts in 2021 and 2022, respectively, but jumped to 44.8 percent in 2023.
Like Curry, Ionescu takes most of his attempts from the wing, while only 20 of his attempts in the 2023 season came from the corners.
Ionescu didn’t shoot much from the corners, but he averaged a 40.0 percent success rate from those spots, again indicating his ability to make shots from anywhere on the court.
During the 2023 3-Point Contest, she was 25 of 27 and scored 37 of a possible 40 points, setting the new scoring record for a 3-Point Contest between the NBA and WNBA. She went on a streak of 20 consecutive shots after missing the first one and hitting every long-distance shot from the wing.
3 Point Contest Rules
It helps to be an accurate shooter from anywhere on the court in a three-point contest.
Players take five shots from five different locations: both corners, both wings, and the top of the key. They move down the court from one corner around the perimeter until they end up in the other corner.
Of the five throws, one is a multicolored money ball worth two points, while other throws are worth only one. As of 2020, two shots were hit at the top of the key, which were the longest shots on the court and were worth three points each.
Players can also choose a specialized rack, making that set of five worth two points each.
If a player hits all the shots, they can score up to 40 points.
