The Saturday night events during NBA All-Star weekend have seen a shift in recent years. Gone are the days when everyone crowded around the TV to watch the league's best dunkers perform acrobatic maneuvers.
These days, the 3-Point Contest provides much more drama and this year we're getting an NBA vs WNBA crossover with Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu going head-to-head. FanDuel has released odds on who will win the 3-point contest and Curry opened as a heavy favorite at -550 odds against Ionescu who is a +340 underdog.
The format will largely follow past 3-point contests. There will be five total racks set up around the perimeter with five basketballs each. Four racks will have four regular basketballs that count for one point and one moneyball worth two points. The fifth rack will have all moneyballs and can be placed anywhere the shooter chooses. Each player will also have two "Starry Range" shots set up roughly 29 feet from the hoop that are worth three points.
The only difference is Curry will shoot NBA 3-point line with NBA basketballs and Ionescu will shoot from the WNBA 3-point line with WNBA basketballs. At least, that's what the NBA rules say. Ionescu said otherwise on social media.
I’ll shoot from the NBA line… LETS GET IT[[! https://t.co/LmQEbMe4S5
— Sabrina Ionescu (@sabrina_i20) January 30, 2024
Ionescu took a massive leap in her 3-point shooting numbers — she entered the 2023 season as a career 33.1% 3-point shooter but hit 44.8% of her 3s in the regular season (third-best in the W) and 40% of her 3s in the playoffs. She led the WNBA in total 3-pointer made (128) and 3-pointers per game (3.6) and Ionescu's 37-point final round in the July's WNBA 3-Point Contest set an all-time WNBA and NBA record.
Curry enters the 3-Point contest as a two-time winner (2015 and 2021) and, if you haven't heard, the NBA's all-time leader in 3-pointers. Curry is a career 42.6% 3-point shooter and has hit at least 40% of his 3s in 13 of his 15 seasons in the NBA.
