Kenny Smith attempts to clarify comments made about Sabrina Ionescu during 3-point contest vs. Steph Curry

“NBA on TNT” analyst Kenny Smith said that the criticism he’s received from basketball fans this week for his comments about New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu during the 3-point contest against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry on NBA All-Star Saturday night is “much ado about nothing.”

Smith, appearing on “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” said that he was advocating for Ionescu and that “most people who know basketball understood” what he meant.

"Much ado about nothing, honestly. Most people who know basketball understood… I was advocating for her more than anything else… [My] track record speaks for itself."

Kenny Smith clarifies his comments on Sabrina Ionescu 🗣️

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— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 20, 2024

“I think it’s much ado about nothing, honestly,” Smith said. “Most people who know basketball understood what I was talking about. Actually, I was advocating for her, more than anything else, because basketball is muscle memory. So, he practices from one range, she practices from another.

“There’s even a study I think with somebody throwing darts. And if you move him out even one step, his accuracy changes dramatically. But the funny thing about it is if you move him in one step, his accuracy changes because you take so many shots from the exact same [spot]. So, I’m like, ‘Why is [Curry] getting the advantage, to shoot at his line? That’s an advantage. It’s not gender, it’s not genetics. Shooting is only muscle memory.”

Sabrina Ionescu shows out against Stephen Curry in 3-point contest

Ionescu, who went head-to-head against Curry, shot from the NBA three-point line while using WNBA basketballs. Ionesco put up a score of 26, outlasted by Curry’s 29. Smith said he felt that Ionescu should have shot from the WNBA three-point line instead, which is more than 1½ feet closer to the basket.

“She should have shot from the women’s line,” Smith said Saturday night in Indianapolis. “… That would have been a fair contest. I still root for Sabrina, I still root for Sabrina. She should have shot from the three-point line that the women shoot from.”

The original setup called for Ionescu, the 2020 No. 1 overall pick out of Oregon, to shoot from the WNBA’s line. She overruled that, calling it a “no-brainer.” Together, Ionescu and Curry shot 39-for-54 (72%) in the 3-point contest.

“I don’t know what’s going to come out of it, but me and Sabrina talked about how cool of an opportunity it is to do something that’s never been done before in our game,” Curry said, via KCRA 3. “And for her to have a presence on this stage is going to do a lot to inspire the next generation of young boys and girls that want to compete and see themselves in either one of us. Wherever it goes from there, we know we can kind of plant our flag as doing something really special.”