Mind Games Begin As Sabrina Ionescu Fiddles With Stephen Curry’s Plan Ahead Of All-Star Showdown

Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu will be going head-to-head on February 17 as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend’s first-ever NBA vs. WNBA 3-point contest. Ionescu, who has only participated in the 3-point contest once, shattered all records last season after scoring 37 out of a maximum of 40 points, even breaking Steph’s previous high of 31. Therefore, while Steph is the NBA’s all-time three-point leader, this is one record that he has yet to surpass. In a bid to cement his status as the all-time greatest 3-point shooter, he will go against Ionescu, who is coming to defend her title. Before the competition, the two athletes sat down to discuss their game plan, but not without a few mind games thrown into the mix!

The main topic of discussion was who would go first. The last to go has an obvious edge since they already know the target score. And Steph knows that too. “The first time I won, I am pretty sure I didn’t go last so I got to set the number. There is a different rush going last and knowing what you have to get and you’re chasing it,” said Curry.

So, he would prefer to go after Sabrina. But Sabrina wasn’t about to let him off the hook that easily. The New York Liberty star tried to change his mind, stating, “If Steph wants to go second, I can go first. That’s not a problem, but I haven’t done this too many times. I only did it once last year, so I don’t really have enough experience to know what works best for me. But if Steph wants to go second, maybe he should go first to put a little hiccup in what he wants to do.” But to no avail.

Steph isn’t one to back down, either. Instead, he proposes that they allow the fans to decide who goes first through a voting process. “The fans being able to decide, there’s some gamesmanship amongst the decision, and I feel like, I might want to take it out of our hands, just you know, let the shooters shoot. And they decide the rules and we kinda go…” As Steph suggests, the decision as to who gets to go first will be decided through fan votes on NBA.com. Given the stakes, his fans wouldn’t expect anything less from him.

Steph vs. Sabrina: What’s at stake?

Apart from putting the lid on the all-time greatest three-point shooter, the two will also be raising money for their respective charities: Curry’s Eat.Learn.Play and Ionescu’s SI20 Foundation. The NBA and WNBA will donate $1,000 for every regular 3-pointer, $2,000 for the money ball, and $3,000 for the Starry Ball – which is 29 feet, nine inches away from the basket.

Read More: Stephen Curry vs Sabrina Ionescu: Klay Thompson Backstabs His Splash Brother Ahead Of NBA All-Star Weekend

Furthermore, for every shot made by the two stars, State Farm will make additional donations to the NBA Foundation to support economic empowerment in the Black community.

Watch This Story- When Did Stephen Curry Last Not Make a Three-Pointer in Game?