The Bay Basketball Battle of the Sexes

During the National Basketball Association’s (NBA’s) all-star weekend, a three-point showdown between the WNBA’s Sabrina Ionescu and Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry stole the show. 

Curry came out on top–by a single shot. 

Curry is the all-time leader for 3-pointers made in the NBA and Ionescu is just coming off breaking the WNBA record for 3-pointers in a single season with 128. She had also scored 37 points in the WNBA 3-point contest last year, beating both the prior WNBA record and Curry’s NBA record of 31. 

These respective records gave rise to the showdown between the two at NBA all-star weekend. 

Graphic by Diego Acevedo

Controversy arose over which line Ionescu would shoot from and what type of ball she would use. In the WNBA the 3-point line is roughly three feet closer to the hoop than the men’s. Ionescu was originally set to shoot from the women’s line but later decided to shoot from the men’s, stating that she wanted to “continue to push boundaries and equal the playing field.” 

She did use a WNBA ball, which is slightly smaller than the NBA’s. 

This was not only a battle of the sexes, but also a battle of the bay. Both Ionescu and Curry have Bay Area roots. Ionescu grew up in Walnut Creek, and Curry plays for the Golden State Warriors. They are both hoping for a rematch when the All-Star Weekend hits San Francisco next year. 

“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. “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.”

This potential rematch will be highly anticipated by basketball fans and even those not interested in the sport. An event like this is special, like the original battle of the sexes between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. While there never was any animosity this time around, it was still a great moment for WNBA visibility and viability. 

Ionescu went up against the best 3-point shooter in NBA history and lost by a single shot. This would be impressive for any player–man or woman–and for her to do so on such a large stage is a huge moment for the women's game.