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Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu will go head to head in a three-point challenge this weekend.
CNN
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We know Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu are great three-point shooters. But this weekend, we will find out who is the best.
The two sharpshooters will face off over All-Star Weekend in the first NBA vs. WNBA three-point contest to settle a long-running debate.
The pair had called each other out earlier this year and now the stage is set to find out which player is the best three-point shooter in the sport.
“I don’t think either of us know the gravity and magnitude this could take on,” Ionescu said on Tuesday. “We’re just excited to be able to do this.”
Curry concurred: “This is what sports is about, competing … you look for opportunities to raise the bar.”
Curry and Ionescu will compete in their own bespoke competition on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, after the traditional Three-Point Contest and before the Dunk Contest.
Saturday evening’s action begins at 8 p.m. ET with the Skills Challenge and is available to watch on TNT.
Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
Curry shoots against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Curry is a two-time NBA three-point contest champion and holds the league’s record for most career three-pointers made (3,642).
However, in 2023, Ionescu set the WNBA record for most three-pointers in a single-season (128). She also set a WNBA and NBA all-time record score in the three-point contest last season, recording 37 points out of a possible 40.
According to the official release, Curry was set to shoot NBA balls from the NBA three-point line, while Ionescu was supposed to use the WNBA equivalents – the line is a little closer and the ball is slightly smaller.
But, confident of her abilities, Ionescu said she wanted to level the playing field.
“I’ll shoot from the NBA line… LETS GET IT,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
As part of the contest, both Curry and Ionescu’s respective charities will receive a donation from the NBA and WNBA. The pair will also have a chance to raise money for the NBA Foundation, which aims to further economic empowerment in the Black community, with each regular shot worth $1,000, every money ball $2,000 and a special 29-foot-9-inch three-pointer called the “STARRY Range Ball” worth $3,000.
“I think this is like the coolest thing ever,” Curry told TNT in late January.
“I love the confidence, I love the competition. It’s a new format on that stage. Obviously, I’m coming to win. I think she is too.”
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Ionescu celebrates a three-point shot in the second half of the New York Liberty’s game against the Connecticut Sun.
The traditional Three-Point Contest will see Malik Beasley, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Lauri Markkanen, Donovan Mitchell, Karl-Anthony Towns and Trae Young try to show their precision from deep and win the crown.
All-Star Weekend will culminate in the All-Star Game on Sunday from the Indiana Pacers’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which sees the best-of-the-best compete against one another.
The game has reverted back to the traditional Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference format for this year, with many of the league’s biggest stars lining up in Indianapolis.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James captain the East and West respectively, while Joel Embiid is the biggest name to miss out having undergone surgery for a knee injury earlier this month.
Saturday’s action begins with the NBA’s showcase of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) as Virginia Union plays Winston-Salem State at 2 p.m. ET.
Players’ all-around skillsets will be on display on Saturday evening with the Skills Challenge beginning at 3 p.m. ET, before the three-point contest showcases some of the best talent from deep. Curry vs. Ionescu and the Slam Dunk competition then round out the evening.
And on Sunday, the G League – the NBA’s minor league affiliate – will host its own series of events beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET at the G League Park at the Indian Convention Center before the crowning jewel of the weekend, the All-Star Game, takes place at 8 p.m. ET.
TNT Sports (formerly known as Turner Sports and briefly as Warner Bros. Discovery Sports) is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), which owns CNN.
CNN’s Ben Church contributed to this report.