The Curry vs Ionescu 3-Point Shootout is the High Stakes Contest We Need
Who Wins This Battle of the Sexes NBA Remix?
NBA Odds Favor Curry Over Ionescu on “Equal” Range
Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu will go head-to-head in a special 3-point contest during this NBA All-Star weekend. With news that both will shoot from the NBA line, which is 23 feet and nine inches from the basket, versus the WNBA’s at 20 feet and six inches, Curry is favored at -230. Still, we could see the internet explode if this Curry vs Ionescu 3-Point Shootout ends with an upset. And we’re all for it.
“There’s a different rush when you’re going last.”
@StephenCurry30 and @sabrina_i20 talk strategy ahead of their 3-point challenge… help decide who goes last by voting on the NBA App!Voting ends TODAY at 12pm/et ⤵️
https://t.co/WSKKvzx1bD pic.twitter.com/H5ADslxIgn— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2024
Sabrina Ionescu: Who She Is and Why She Can Beat Curry
Every sports fan knows who Stephen Curry is. But many, if not most, are still unfamiliar with WNBA superstar Sabrina Ionescu. To start, she is a two-time WNBA All-Star and set a 3-point shootout record by scoring 37 points in last year’s contest (which she won).
She broke Curry’s previous record of 31. Even if she shot from the WNBA 3-point line, going 25 of 27 in her final attempts is impressive. So it feels fitting for her to challenge Curry, known as the greatest 3-point shooter ever. And now, gambling news revealed both will shoot from the same range.
“Personally, I shoot from (men’s 3-point) range, to begin with, I practice from that range,” Ionescu said. “Knowing that I had the opportunity to pick what line I wanted to shoot from, it was a no-brainer that I wanted to shoot from the NBA line and prove that we’re capable and we’re willing. It’s not something that took a lot of convincing and knowing I wanted to equal the playing field.”
With Ionescu shooting from a further distance by WNBA standards, she is the +190 underdog, which is roughly a 34.5% chance of winning. But if Ionescu is accustomed to pulling up from this range, these Curry vs Ionescu 3-Point Shootout odds may be a bit skewed.
Curry is not the invincible 3-point shooting god he is made out to be. He holds most, if not all, NBA stats in this category, but he’s also only won two of the seven 3-point contests he’s joined. Longshots like Paul Pierce (2010) and Marco Belinelli (2014) also won contests over Curry. Don’t count Ionescu out too quickly.
The Biggest Exhibition Game of All Time?
Going beyond the Curry vs Ionescu 3-Point Shootout odds, the potential impact of this contest could be earth-shattering. To this day, the “Battle of the Sexes” is still talked about in tennis. There was a trilogy of this, with the men winning two of the three. But the one Billie Jean King won in 1973 is still a popular subject today.
And not to underplay what King did – a win over the 55-year-old Bobby Riggs – but Ionescu beating Curry would be more significant as both are in their prime.
“You look for opportunities to just raise the bar on what it means to be a basketball fan,” Curry said in an interview with ESPN. “It’s an authentic competition between two great shooters who’ve succeeded in the 3-point contest. However it plays out, this is what sports is about: competing.”
The rules of the 3-point contest here are the same as the annual Starry 3-Point Contest, where they shoot from five positions in 70 seconds. There will be a “money ball” on every rack, which is worth two points. One rack will have purely money balls as picked by the player. And there are also two extra balls, the “Mountain Dew” balls, at the top of the key, worth three points each. The maximum possible score is 40.
Ionescu has gained notoriety for her sharp-shooting skills. She’s hit several “Curry range” shots in the WNBA. And this past season, she averaged 44.8% on nearly eight attempts per game from 3-point range.
Folks can take advantage of Ionescu’s underdog odds online. Sports betting with Bitcoin is an alternative way to bet as sportsbooks can give more bonuses to Crypto users.
For NBA betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
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