Basketball Fans Exalt Stephen Curry, Sabrina Ionescu After Epic Three-Point Showdown

Rarely in sports do expressly made-for-television events live up to the hype.

Saturday’s three-point showdown between Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu did exactly that.

In a one-off competition in Indianapolis, Ionescu drained 26 points’ worth of three-pointers from behind the NBA three-point line—only for Curry to equalize and then surpass with 29 points to take the crown.

For his efforts, Curry received a championship belt—but the real winners were basketball fans.

Viewers ladled out praise toward both Curry and Ionescu for their performances.

In an oft-shared quote, Ionescu reminded fans that shooting ability has no gender.

Many urged fans not to use Ionescu’s loss as an excuse to denigrate her or women’s basketball.

Broadly speaking, the prevailing attitude was of celebration for two of the game’s great talents.

Legendary South Carolina coach Dawn Staley praised Ionescu for her performance.

In contrast with the participants, TNT analyst and former NBA guard Kenny Smith attracted criticism for suggesting Ionescu should’ve shot from the shorter WNBA three-point line.

All in all, fans were generally satisfied with the proceedings...

...and were quick to point out the two players’ near-identical shooting pedigrees.

Some suggested it was time for Curry to recruit a new teammate.