Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty pose for a photo after their 3-point challenge during the State Farm All-Star Saturday Night at Lucas Oil Stadium. source: Getty Images During the 2024 NBA All-Star festivities, Golden State Warriors legend Stephen Curry took on the New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu in a three-point shoot-off.
To put things bluntly, it was the absolute highlight of the entire NBA All-Star weekend last year. Two stars at the top of their shooting abilities going head-to-head to settle the classic men vs. women debate? It was must-watch television.
Curry ultimately defeated Ionescu, but both shooters put on a tremendous show. Curry finished the contest with 29 points while Ionescu had 26 points. They did not miss many shots.
Sadly, the event isn’t happening this year. The reasoning seems somewhat unclear.
“We weren’t able to land on a plan we thought would raise the bar off of last year’s special moment,” the NBA released in a statement. “We all agreed not to proceed and will instead keep the focus on All-Star Sunday’s new format.”
That might be the most vague explanation ever. There was nothing wrong with the format last year. Ionescu is from the San Francisco Bay Area, where the NBA All-Star festivities will take place this weekend. That adds to the insult that this event won’t be happening again.
A few weeks ago, Indiana Fever sensation Caitlin Clark declined an invitation to participate in the NBA Three-Point Contest. Understandably, Clark expressed that her desire is to have her first three-point competition take place in the WNBA. Conveniently, the next WNBA All-Star game will take place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, where Clark’s Fever play.
Maybe the league had hoped that Clark and Ionescu could team up against Curry and whoever won the NBA Three-Point Contest. That would have been tremendous entertainment. It’s understandable why Clark does not want to participate—and maybe Ionescu passed on the opportunity as well—but the league should find a way to make this concept work.
You know they are desperate to bring eyeballs back to their All-Star Weekend if they’re trying to bring in top female players. Perhaps a collaboration with the WNBA could be the best for both sides to increase visibility.
We’ve all heard the criticisms surrounding the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, which consistently falls flat compared to how great the event was in decades past. The All-Star Game itself is pointless—not literally, of course, as it will be the least competitive basketball you’ll ever find.
This season’s wrinkle to the NBA All-Star format was letting the “Inside the NBA” crew draft four teams in a tournament-style setup. That’s the extent that anybody should know or care about Sunday’s game.
Curry vs. Ionescu was the highlight in 2024, and it would have been the highlight again in 2025. It’s a bummer that it won’t happen. There’s always next year, hopefully.
