This weekend, the New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu broke both WNBA and NBA records for most points in a three-point shooting contest, as she dropped all but two in the final round of the competition that kicked off the 2023 WNBA All-Star weekend.
Back in 2021, Warriors guard Stephen Curry established a new mark after hitting 31 points. Two years later, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton tied the Golden State player. But now, Ionescu’s 37 out of 40 possible points has surpassed any record posted in past three-point tournaments.
After the competition, Curry deemed Ionescu’s performance as “RIDICULOUS”, in a tweet which celebrated her display. The Liberty guard has called out the Warriors athlete and challenged him to a shooting duel.
Sabrina Ionescu called out Stephen Curry after her record-setting three-point contest win 😂@sabrina_i20 | @StephenCurry30 pic.twitter.com/FbK1ktS50J
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 15, 2023
“I was just focused on making one at a time,” Ionescu told the press after her exhibition. “I wasn’t sure how many I’d miss but I knew it wasn’t a lot. I’m happy to have won this and thankful for the crowd, they were cheering me on the entire time.”
The other participants weren’t even close to the former Oregon collegiate, as Seattle Storm’s Sami Whitcomb came in second with 22 points to her name, and Dallas Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale followed with 11. In the first round, Connecticut Sun’s DiJonai Carring hit 18 points before her elimination, as Indiana Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell and Las Vegas Aces’ Jackie Young both had 15.
In the stands of the Las Vegas’ Michelob ULTRA Arena, was sitting four-time 3-point contest champion Allie Quigley, who used to have the WNBA record before this weekend. She also cheered Ionescu’s impressive display and took her amazement to Twitter.
“UNBELIEVABLE!!! This record won’t ever be broken,” Quigley posted shortly after.
Ionescu shared how much she’s practiced for this moment, as her shooting efficiency has gone way up this past year
New York teammate Courtney Vandersloot, who happens to be Quigley’s wife, had advised Ionescu to practice shooting from a rack. In the WNBA’s regular-season stats, Ionescu’s 54 treys are second in the league, while her 44.6% shooting efficiency is fourth-best. In years past, the Liberty guard had never surpassed 33.3% from the deep.
“Yeah, I knew they were going in,” the 25-year-old athlete said about her own performance. “There’s adrenaline. It was the final round. I had just lost in the Skills [Challenge] and I wasn’t going to lose again.”I’ve put in a lot of work to be able to shoot like I have been from the 3-point line. This one’s pretty rewarding.”
In this All-Star weekend’s Skills Challenge, the Aces’ duo of Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum took home the trophy after beating New York’s Ionescu and Vandersloot in the final.
This was the first competition where the WNBA used a teammate format to compete for the prize. “It was a vibe, it was fun,” Gray shared. “The energy was great.”
The ball is now on Curry’s court if he is to accept her challenge to confront each other in a future three-point contest.
