Sabrina Ionescu jokingly wants level raised for Steph Curry at NBA All-Star Weekend showdown: "Someone plz contest his shots"

WNBA shooting star Sabrina Ionescu will challenge NBA superstar Steph Curry in the first 3-point challenge between the two leagues during the NBA All-Star festivities on Feb. 17. The New York Liberty guard does not want ‘Chef Curry’ having his way in their showdown.

The 26-year-old two-time WNBA All-Star recognizes that she will be up against a very formidable challenge in the NBA’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made. So the last thing she needs is to have the Golden State Warriors All-Star be all prepped up for battle.

Ionescu jokingly stressed that as she reacted to the spectacular shooting display that Steph Curry had against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday. The four-time NBA champion had six-3 pointers in the first quarter, sending the all-WNBA Team member Ionescu to react on social media platform Threads:

“Someone plz contest his shots I nee him a little out of rhythm… thx”

Steph Curry ended his outing against the Pacers with 11 3-pointers and 42 points in a 131-109 victory.

For the “Stephen vs. Sabrina” showdown, the competition will follow standard STARRY 3-Point Contest rules, with Curry shooting from the NBA three-point line with NBA basketballs, and Ionescu from the WNBA 3-point line with WNBA basketballs.

Both are playing for charity – Eat.Learn.Play. (Curry) and SI20 Foundation (Ionescu). Moreover, the different basketballs used in the competition will carry corresponding monetary value from State Farm to be given to the NBA Foundation.

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How the Steph Curry-Sabrina Ionescu shootout challenge came about

The featured 3-point challenge between Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu at this year’s NBA All-Star festivities started from the challenge issued by the WNBA star following her record-breaking performance in her league’s Midseason Classic last season.

At the WNBA All-Star 2023, New York Liberty’s Ionescu recorded 37 points out of a possible 40 in the final round of the STARRY WNBA 3-Point Contest to win the competition. It set a WNBA and NBA single-round event record.

Following her impressive win, she teased at challenging Curry in a 3-point showdown, which the latter said he was open to. The Golden State Warriors stalwart brought up the idea again in their game against the Sacramento Kings on Jan. 25, and Ionescu responded on social media to accept the challenge.

Stephen Curry is a two-time NBA 3-Point Contest champion (2015 and 2021) and holds the most 3-pointers made in regular season in NBA history with 3,615. For her part, Ionescu set an WNBA single-season record with 128 3-pointers last year.

This year, the NBA All-Star Game and festivities will run from Feb. 16 to 18 in Indianapolis, Indiana.