Sabrina Ionescu vs Stephen Curry in three-point shootout during NBA's All-Star Weekend
Former Oregon Duck standout and New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu competed against Stephen Curry, the best shooter in NBA history, during a 3-point shootout at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis Saturday night as part of the NBA's All-Star Weekend.
Ionescu went first and started out hot, hitting her first eight shots and 19 total en route to a 26-point round. Curry, the NBA's all-time leader in 3-point makes, scored 29.
Ionescu and Curry both took to the mic afterward to talk about the importance of the contest and the strides women have made in sports in recent years.
"I'm just going to continue to use my platform and I think a night like tonight shows a lot of young girls and young boys if you can shoot, you can shoot," Ionescu said on the TNT broadcast. "It doesn't matter if you're a girl or a boy, it just matters the heart that you have and wanting be the best you can be."
A Bay Area-native, Sabrina Ionescu grew up attending Warriors’ games and idolizing Curry. When she played at Oregon, Curry made it a point to support the collegiate star and brought his two daughters to one of the Ducks’ games at Cal when Ionescu was a senior.
Curry is a two-time winner of the NBA’s 3-point contest, taking the challenge in 2015 and 2021. Ionescu won the WNBA’s 3-point contest last July, scoring 37 of the possible 40 points and at one point hit 20 shots in a row. That performance broke Curry’s record of 31 points.
Along with his 3-point victories, Curry is the NBA’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made, a four-time NBA champion, a two-time NBA scoring champ and a two-time winner of the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award.
Ionescu, who has 10 fewer years of professional experience than Curry, graduated from Oregon as one of the NCAA’s most accomplished basketball players. She already owns a major record in the WNBA, too, making 128 3-pointers last season – the most in a single season all-time.
At Oregon, Ionescu graduated as the Ducks’ all-time leader in points, assists, 3-point field goals and double-figure scoring games. She became the first player in NCAA history with 2,000 career points, 1,000 career rebounds and 1,000 career assists, and is the NCAA’s all-time leader in triple doubles with 26.
Ionescu is entering her fifth season with the New York Liberty this summer after helping the team to a WNBA Finals appearance in 2023.
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on Twitter @AlecDietz.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Sabrina Ionescu vs Stephen Curry in 3-point shootout, 26-29
