Who is Sabrina Ionescu? 5 Things to Know About the WNBA Star Going Head-to-Head With Stephen Curry
Two of the best basketball players in the world are about to go head-to-head.
Sabrina Ionescu and Stephen Curry will compete in a three-point shooting contest at NBA All-Star Weekend on Saturday, February 17, in Indianapolis. The event marks the first time an NBA and WNBA player have publicly competed against each other in a competition like this.
The idea for the contest came about last summer, shortly after Ionescu broke Curry’s record for points in a three-point competition, lighting up WNBA All-Star Weekend with 37 out of 40 possible points. That included 20 makes in a row as she shattered Curry’s previous mark of 31 points.
“Shoot out???? @StephenCurry30,” she later quipped via X, sending a public challenge to the Golden State Warriors guard.
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That sparked the conversation, and while the two have competed privately in HORSE (Ionescu won) and in pickup games, the All-Star shootout will be the first time that fans get to watch the two icons compete.
Ionescu was originally set to shoot from the WNBA three-point line, which is more than 18 inches closer to the basket than the NBA line, while Curry was going to shoot from the NBA line. Ionescu later said she’d shoot from NBA range as well.
“Personally, I shoot from that range to begin with," Ionescu said on a media video call with Curry.
While Ionescu and Curry are close and the competition will be friendly, the New York Liberty guard knows that the contest’s impact extends beyond All-Star Weekend.
"There's going to be a young kid who hasn't maybe watched many WNBA games but is going to watch this, and they're going to have that dream of one day maybe shooting against their idol," Ionescu said. "We're a small piece of changing the narrative. This isn't really scripted. This isn't something we're doing to try to check something off the box. We're really excited for the opportunity. It's really organic."
Curry, a longtime supporter of the WNBA, agreed.
"We're having this moment and reshaping how people think about just competition in general," Curry said. "You've got kids that are in gyms, boys and girls playing. Whatever else comes out of it, we're going to continue to tap in and invest in moments like these that can move the needle."
In addition to bragging rights, Ionescu and Curry are competing for charity. The NBA and WNBA will donate to Ionescu’s SI20 Foundation and Curry’s Eat.Learn.Play based on the number of threes each makes.
As the competition approaches, here’s what you need to know about Sabrina Ionescu:
1. She’s 1 of the Greatest College Basketball Players Ever
Out of everything the pandemic took away in sports, the opportunity for Ionescu to play in a Final Four with the Oregon Ducks is among the most cruel. The then-senior swept the national player of the year awards and shattered school, conference and NCAA records along the way. Perhaps most notably, Ionescu is the all-time college basketball leader in triple-doubles among both men and women. Even as Caitlin Clark barrels through the competition at Iowa, she has only achieved the feat 15 times, a distant second place to Ionescu’s 26. Ionescu is also the only player in college basketball history with 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds in her career.
2. She’s the Cornerstone of the New York Liberty’s Revival
After COVID cut Ionescu’s college career short, the New York Liberty selected her first overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft. Injuries derailed her first season, but Ionescu returned with a vengeance in 2021, notching the first triple-double in franchise history. Now, alongside all-stars Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot, Ionescu is one of the faces of the best team in the Eastern Conference. The Liberty fell to the Las Vegas Aces in the 2023 WNBA Finals in four games.
3. She’s 1 of Nike’s Most Prominent Woman Athletes
Almost as soon as she was out of college, Ionescu signed an endorsement deal with Nike. By 2023, that deal included a signature sneaker, making her just the 12th WNBA player to have a namesake shoe, and the eighth to do so with the Swoosh. Since its launch, WNBA and NBA athletes alike have donned the Sabrina 1s on-court, including Jordan Clarkson and Jrue Holiday. (Liberty superfan Jason Sudeikis also wore a pair to the 2024 Golden Globe Awards.)
4. Her Fiancé is Las Vegas Raiders Center Hroniss Grasu
Talk about an athletic power couple. Apart from being pro athletes, Ionescu and Grasu share a ton in common — both are of Romanian descent, grew up in California and attended the University of Oregon. The two have been together since 2021 and announced their engagement in January 2023. Grasu has been in the NFL since 2015 and a member of the Raiders since 2021.
5. She Was Close Friends With the Late Kobe Bryant
After Bryant’s playing days ended, he dedicated even more attention to his daughter Gianna’s basketball dreams. In turn, his support for women’s basketball grew, and Ionescu was one of several prominent women’s players he befriended. Just days after Kobe and Gianna died in a 2020 helicopter accident, Ionescu spoke at her friend’s memorial service in L.A. That same night, she returned to Oregon and tied her own single-season NCAA triple-double record.
