NBA | WNBA
Steph Curry vs Sabrina Ionescu 3-point challenge: format and rules explained
The Golden State Warriors and New York Liberty point guards will face off in a three-point competition, independent of All-Star Weekend.
We could be about to discover who the best three-point shooter in basketball history is with the Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry and the New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu to face off in a three-point contest, which will take place during NBA All-Star Weekend 2024 on Saturday, February 17, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The challenge will be played after the classic three-point contest and before the dunk contest.
The rules of the competition
The league decided on standard rules with two players going head-to-head using different balls. Initially, it was announced they would be shooting from different distances, with Curry using the NBA ball and shooting from the perimeter of the men’s competition (7.24 meters), and Ionescu using the WNBA ball to shoot from the women’s distance (6.75 meters).
However, Ionescu later expressed a desire to shoot from the NBA line, a request which was accepted.
Each player will shoot five racks of five balls placed at different points around the three-point perimeter. Four of the racks will have four standard balls worth one point, plus a “money ball,” worth two. The final rack will be made up five “money balls,” which can be moved around the three-point perimeter. There will also be two “Starry range balls,” which will be shot from long range and be worth three points.
Curry and Ionescu will each have 70 seconds to take all of their shots from the moment they begin.
Who is Sabrina Ionescu?
Sabrina Ionescu is a basketball player who has been making waves in women’s basketball since an early age. She hails from Walnut Creek, California, and has Romanian heritage. In 2020, she was selected as the number 1 draft pick by the New York Liberty in the WNBA draft.
Since then, the 26 year old has been an all-star twice, won a World Cup with the United States, and set a high-profile milestone by winning the last WNBA three-point contest.
Her performance was incredible; she achieved the highest score in the contest’s history (NBA and WNBA). She scored 37 points out of a possible 40, surpassing the previous record of 31 held by Stephen Curry (2021) and Tyrese Haliburton (2023). Her impressive series of shots included 25 successful attempts.