Sabrina Ionescu hopes to inspire other women's basketball players in 3-point contest vs. Steph Curry
Former Oregon and current WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu will get to show off her 3-point shooting mettle against the best of all time on Saturday night during NBA All-Star festivities. During the Saturday slate, Ionescu will face off against Stephen Curry in a 3-point shooting contest.
And while she wants to win, surely, Ionescu is also proud of the fact she gets to blaze a trail that other women’s basketball players can follow. As someone who idolized Curry herself, she wants to show she can out-shoot him on the court, too.
“All young girls that are watching, being able to watch this and see that one day too they can come out here and shoot against their idol, shoot against the best shooter in the world, and nothing is going to stop them,” Ionescu said on Saturday on NBA on TNT prior to action beginning.
Curry, the NBA all-time leader in 3 pointers made while also being 12th amongst NBA players all-time in 3-point percentage, making more than 42% of his career attempts from deep, will surely be a tough out for Ionescu.
But she’ll surely be up to the task to give him a challenge. Ionescu is just shy of 38% from deep in her WNBA career and shot a blistering 44.3% from deep in the 2023 season.
Recapturing or sustaining some of that shooting form should give her more than a fighting chance against Curry in this one-off 3-point contest.
A dunk contest contestant promised big things
Two years ago, Obi Toppin won the NBA Dunk Contest while playing for the New York Knicks. He was in his second year in the league at the time, and he beat out three others to win the competition ahead of the All-Star Game.
Saturday night, his brother Jacob Toppin will try to join him in that company – and he has big plans.
“I definitely have something planned that’s going to put me in legendary status,” Toppin said.
Toppin signed with the Knicks after going undrafted out of Kentucky following the 2023 NBA Draft, and New York converted his contract into a two-way deal to get him some experience with the big club. That means he’s splitting time with the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G-League, but he’s in Indianapolis for the NBA All-Star Saturday Night festivities.
In the dunk contest, Toppin will go up against Jaylen Brown, Mac McClung and Jaime Jaquez. McClung is looking to repeat as champion after bringing home the trophy last year, while Brown is hoping to become the first All-Star to win it since John Wall in 2014.
If Jacob Toppin wins, though, he’d join his brother as champions – and he’d do it in Obi’s town, as he’s now with the Pacers. That, he said, would make it even more special.
“For me to win the 2024 dunk contest, it would mean a lot,” Toppin said. “Having two brothers win it, I think that would be a first.”