One of the highlights of this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend is undoubtedly the 3-point showdown between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu. This first-of-its-kind NBAxWNBA competition was set off when New York Liberty guard Sabrina challenged Steph to competition after she broke the previous record of 31 points set by Steph. She scored 37 points (July 2023) in the Three-Point Contest—the highest total in WNBA and NBA history.
The competition will abide by the STARRY 3-Point Contest rules. This means that Steph will use NBA standard basketballs to shoot from the 3-point line, while Sabrina will use WNBA balls and shoot from the WNBA 3-point line. With a total of $40k at stake, things took an interesting turn when it was announced that when each of them makes a shot, a certain amount of money would go to charity.
Every shot counts for Steph and Sabrina
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For taking part in the competition, both Steph’s Eat. Learn. Play Foundation and Sabrina’s SI20 Foundation are set to receive donations from the NBA and the WNBA, to help join the two stars’ efforts to alleviate the lives of the underprivileged. As per the NBA, “In addition, each shot made by Curry and Ionescu will trigger a donation from State Farm to the NBA Foundation to support economic empowerment in the Black community. ”
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For donation purposes, every 3-point that either of them makes will be worth $1000, the money ball $2000, and the deep 3-point shot from 29 ft, 9 inches away a.k.a STARRY Range Ball will be worth $3ooo. In a regular 3-point contest, there are five ball racks. Four ball racks consisting of four game balls & one money ball in each rack, and a separate rack of only money balls. Then we have two ‘Starry’ balls. So, if we do the math, Steph and Sabrina can each make $40,000 for the NBA Foundation if both can sink every ball.
Where and how to watch?
With everything set and ready to go for the competition, here are a few things you should keep in mind. The much-anticipated match will go down on 17th February at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis during the State Farm All-Star Saturday Night. In case you can’t make it fret not because it will be televised on TNT before the AT&T Slam Dunk competition and after the Starry 3-Point Contest.
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In the past, WNBA stars have competed in the NBA All-Star Weekend but only in the shooting stars competition and celebrity games. Sabrina will be the first WNBA star to compete in the 3-point contest, with the responsibility of promoting women’s basketball on one of the sport’s biggest platforms. So, Saturday night will be all about whether Sabrina can break her own record, or if Steph can set a new one. It will be as exciting as it sounds!