Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
The NBA announced on Thursday that Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu will not have a 3-point contest rematch at All-Star Weekend. Instead, the NBA will have… nothing.
That’s right. The NBA couldn’t figure out how to bring back or add to the one interesting thing to happen during its All-Star Weekend in years.
“We weren’t able to land on a plan we thought would raise the bar off of last year’s special moment,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement. “We all agreed not to proceed and will instead keep the focus on All-Star Sunday’s new format.”
They all agreed to not proceed because why? NBA commissioner Adam Silver came right out in November and said that Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu would be back for another 3-point contest.
“They know they’re going to be doing this again,” Silver said. “They’re looking forward to it. I think as soon as they walked off the court after the competition last year, they said, in fact, they said we need more than one round. So we’re going to be doing more.”
Now, according to The Athletic, NBA sources claim neither Steph Curry nor Sabrina Ionescu were interested in a rematch.
The NBA also was planning on Caitlin Clark, and possibly Klay Thompson, joining the festivities, but as all basketball fans know by now, Clark said thanks, but no thanks. She “wants her first 3-point contest to be at WNBA All-Star in Indianapolis this summer.”
Adding insult to injury, the NBA All-Star Game this year is being held in San Francisco, home of Curry’s Golden State Warriors. Plus, Sabria Ionescu grew up in in the Bay Area in Walnut Creek, Calif.
“I am excited to get to the Bay. Obviously, I am from the Bay, so my whole family is very excited to be able to see me and welcome me home,” Ionescu told USA Today last week in an article titled “Sabrina Ionescu would welcome All-Star 3-point contest rematch with Stephen Curry.”
According to The Athletic, “NBA officials attempted to resurrect the Curry-Ionescu competition in some form as late as Wednesday,” but failed.
Many basketball fans are not happy.
“This was the best part of it last year smh. Nba cant ever get s— right,” one fan wrote on X (Twitter), echoing many.
“They decide this today? So unorganized,” someone else complained, while another wrote, “A plan? It’s a 3-point contest?”
“Allisha Gray is gonna be in San Francisco. Her & Sabrina Ionescu vs Steph & Buddy,” another fan responded. “It’s not hard to do.”