Sue Bird believes Steph Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu coverage needed a woman on the broadcast

One of the highlights of NBA All-Star Weekend was the three-point contest between Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu. Which represented the first-ever NBA vs. WNBA three-point competition between two of the best shooters currently playing across any level of basketball.

Curry edged out Ionescu by three points in the competition, taking home the win and the three-point champion belt for his 29-26 victory in the historic event. But some viewers were displeased with TNT’s broadcast coverage of the event.

This included former Seattle Storm point guard Sue Bird, with the retired four-time WNBA champion and 13-time All-Star sharing her thoughts on broadcast following the three-point contest.

We needed a woman on the headsets, too. So much nuance & storytelling missed.

26 is 26, tho 🔥 https://t.co/d04la1SWKJ

— Sue Bird (@S10Bird) February 18, 2024

Bird quote tweeted the NBA’s post of Curry and Ionescu’s showdown writing, “We needed a woman on the headsets, too. So much nuance & storytelling missed.” Also giving Ionescu her flowers for posting an impressive 26 points, a score which would have put her in the finals for the NBA’s three-point competition that took place prior.

Former NBA players Reggie Miller and Kenny Smith handled TNT’s broadcast for Curry and Ionescu’s three-point contest. With Smith receiving some backlash following the competition regarding some of the comments he made at the end of the contest.

“I think she should have shot from the women’s line. She should have shot from the women’s line, that would have been a fair contest. I still root for Sabrina, I still root for Sabrina,” Smith repeated.

Miller showed his disagreement with Smith’s remarks during the broadcast.

“We all are rooting for Sabrina,” Miller replied. “Why are you putting those boundaries on her? She wanted to shoot from three.”

Smith continued, pointing out that Ionescu should have shot from the women’s three-point line since she also shot with a WNBA-sized ball.

“There’s a women’s tee in golf and there’s a men’s tee for a reason,” Smith added.

“Good job Sabrina, don’t let any man put boundaries on you like Kenny,” Miller said ending the exchange.

Smith’s remarks following the contest definitely added a narrative that was unneeded from the historic moment, as Ionescu still excelled from the NBA three-point line which is 12 to 18 inches further from the WNBA line between the corners and top of the key.

In the 2023 season, Ionescu set a new WNBA single-season record for three-pointers made with 128. While Curry broke the NBA’s career three-pointers made record in December of 2021 to further bolster his claim as the best shooter in league history.

Ionescu showed her desire to shoot from the NBA three-point line in a tweet on January 30, with the battle of the sexes on Saturday night serving as a significant moment for men’s and women’s basketball alike.

“That was amazing,” Ionescu said following the contest. “Just to be able to have this be the first of this kind of event and come out here and put on a show but understanding what this means. Excited to change the narrative and be able to do it alongside the greatest to ever do it.”