SHOOTING STARS
Inside Sabrina Ionescu’s stellar basketball career as WNBA star prepares for Steph Curry showdown at NBA All-Star
The WNBA star came for one of the Warriors icon's records last year
WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu is preparing to perform on one of the biggest stages.
The New York Liberty point guard will make history this week when she faces off with Steph Curry, 35, for the crown of the best 3-point shooter in the country during the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend.
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Ionescu, 26, a San Francisco Bay Area native, became more than a local legend after starting her college career at Oregon.
She made a name for herself as a basketball phenomenon, one that had her potential recognized by NBA greats including Curry and the late Kobe Bryant.
The 5-foot-11 guard became Bryant's protege, a Mamba Mentality acolyte who worked out and often communicated with the Los Angeles Lakers icon before his tragic death in 2020.
In the meantime, Ionescu kept breaking a record after record in the NCAA.
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During her four-season run with Oregon, she averaged 18.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.5 steals.
In her junior year, the Ducks star broke the all-time NCAA record in career triple-doubles for both men's and women's basketball.
"She's a legend in her own right," Curry said of Ionescu in April 2019.
The following season, she moved past NBA legend Gary Payton as the Pac-12 all-time leader in assists.
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Ionescu also became the only NCAA player to have ever recorded 2,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds.
The Liberty picked her with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft.
And the versatile guard kept shocking the basketball world with her all-around game.
Ionescu has recorded the WNBA's first-ever triple-double in under three quarters and become the first player in league history to log over 500 points, 200 rebounds, and 200 assists in a season.
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Last year, she went for Curry's NBA All-Star record of 31 points scored in the 3-point Challenge, hitting 20 straight shots and tallying 37 points out of a possible 40 to win the contest in the WNBA's event.
Her effort has led to the upcoming showdown with the Golden State Warriors icon in a first-ever 3-point face-off between NBA and WNBA stars.
"She stopped the world," Curry said of Ionescu ahead of Saturday's matchup.
"Now to have a tie-in on something that can have representation, keep that narrative going, it’s awesome, no matter how it plays out.
"It’s unchartered territory."