Rarely in sports do expressly made-for-television events live up to the hype.
Saturday’s three-point showdown between Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu did exactly that.
In a one-off competition in Indianapolis, Ionescu drained 26 points’ worth of three-pointers from behind the NBA three-point line—only for Curry to equalize and then surpass with 29 points to take the crown.
For his efforts, Curry received a championship belt—but the real winners were basketball fans.
Viewers ladled out praise toward both Curry and Ionescu for their performances.
In an oft-shared quote, Ionescu reminded fans that shooting ability has no gender.
Sabrina Ionescu: “If you can shoot, you can shoot. It doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl.”
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) February 18, 2024
💪🏾🙌🏾
Many urged fans not to use Ionescu’s loss as an excuse to denigrate her or women’s basketball.
steph vs. sabrina was brilliant and i am begging the internet to be normal about it
— Molly Morrison (@mollyhannahm) February 18, 2024
Broadly speaking, the prevailing attitude was of celebration for two of the game’s great talents.
Man Sabrina woulda beat damn near the whole 3pt contest they just put her against Thanos for the hell of it
— Clique Productions (@ImClique_) February 18, 2024
Legendary South Carolina coach Dawn Staley praised Ionescu for her performance.
Heck Yeah SABRINA!! Way to represent!! #WBBvsEVERYBODY
— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) February 18, 2024
In contrast with the participants, TNT analyst and former NBA guard Kenny Smith attracted criticism for suggesting Ionescu should’ve shot from the shorter WNBA three-point line.
Kenny saying that Sabrina should have shot from the women’s line when she was 4 pts away from beating him is🗑️
— LaChina Robinson (@LaChinaRobinson) February 18, 2024
All in all, fans were generally satisfied with the proceedings...
Could that have gone better? Sabrina got 26 from the NBA line and Steph also killed it? Sick as hell
— Rose Lavelle stan account (@Vibhishrag) February 18, 2024
...and were quick to point out the two players’ near-identical shooting pedigrees.
SABRINA IONESCU | 26 points
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) February 18, 2024
Steph Curry | 29 points
Best shooters in WNBA and NBA history 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/5vHQTblfEA
Some suggested it was time for Curry to recruit a new teammate.
BREAKING : The Warriors are trading Klay Thompson to the New York Liberty for Sabrina Ionescu, source tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/sH7gUUt9ju
— Coach Rome (@Rome_Beast) February 18, 2024
