The battle of the sexes comes to the NBA All Star Game: Stephen Curry beats Sabrina Ionescu in a duel between serial shooters

Steph Curryliving myth of Warriors of the Golden State 35 years old, beaten Sabrina Ionescu, star of the New York Liberty in the WNBAin a very special triple duel that took place this Saturday at All Star Game of the NBA in Indianapolis which featured Mac McClung and his chilling leap over Shaquille O’Neal that helped him win a very close dunk contest.

For the first time a woman and a man faced each other in a version of ““the battle of the sexes” on the LED parquet of Lucas Oil Stadium. He “Stefano against Sabrina”, as promoted by the organizers, was a bet well received by the fans. The crowd’s ovation for two great figures of American sports makes it clear that this new challenge is here to stay.

Curry won by 29 points to 26 the duel with Ionescu from the NBA three-point line, an unprecedented test in which the WNBA player pushed the best three-point shooter in the history of the league to the limit.

“For us to have given a show like this was something perfect. There was a lot of excitement that we were able to generate there in such a short time, with two great shooters that we wanted to win. “It’s something we’ll remember for a long time,” said Curry, a four-time NBA champion, two-time regular season MVP and one-time Finals MVP, as well as two World Cup victories with the United States team.

Ionescu, 26, had arrived at this appointment after his own Standout performance in the 2023 WNBA All-Star 3-point gamewhen he sealed the scoring record, in both men’s and women’s basketball, with 37 points out of 40 possible and 25 successful shots out of 27 attempts -he missed the first one and then made 20 in a row-.

Ionescu, of Romanian origin, competed with the WNBA balls, slightly smaller than the NBA ones, used by Curry.

The Warriors guard needed to reach the final set of balls and sealed his victory with 29 points. He raised his arms to the sky and exchanged a sincere hug with Ionescu, with whom he maintains a strong bond of friendship. It was precisely a proposal from these two stars to organize this duel, with the desire to bring a change of perspective and inspire girls and boys to pursue their passions.

“It was fantastic to be here for the first time, put on a show, change perspective”, Ionescu said at the end of the test. He immediately expressed hope that this would not be the last time and vowed to continue using his platform to inspire the growth of the sport.

“If you know how to shoot, you know how to shoot. It doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl.”, underlined Ionescu, applauded by the audience. She and she was grateful: “The respect I got from the guys in the NBA … will show a lot of people who haven’t seen women’s sports that we can go out and put on a show.”

Hours before facing Curry, Ionescu held a long press conference in which she recounted the process that led her to accept this challenge.

“It would have been easy to say that I didn’t want to feel embarrassed or that I was afraid of failing. I didn’t do it because I know who I am, but also because of what it will mean for many young girls, who will see that they can go on the field and beat a boy .” on the field, that they can play more in a men’s team, that they can be the best in their women’s team”, he said. And he continues: “I play for this, and this has overcome me any kind of fear of coming here and not WIN”.

Saturday’s game took place at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, set up with a futuristic glass basketball court and lit with LEDs. A spectacular giant screen effect on those 756 square meters which have become a show apart.

This Sunday, the All-Star Game will conclude with the All-Star Game, played at Gainrbridge Fieldhouse, the home of the Indiana Pacers. That stage already hosted the Rising Stars on Friday including first-year players, second-year players and a selection of G League development talent.

Source: EFE