SAN FRANCISCO — Fans will not witness a rematch between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu at this year’s All-Star weekend.
The NBA announced that the much-anticipated 3-point shooting contest, which featured these two prominent basketball figures during last year’s All-Star festivities in Indianapolis, will not take place in San Francisco.
Negotiations to arrange this highly expected rematch continued for several weeks, even extending into the All-Star week itself. The prospect of a competitive showdown seemed appropriate, especially considering that the festivities are hosted at Curry’s home arena, and Ionescu, a WNBA champion with the New York Liberty, is originally from the Bay Area, where she grew up admiring Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
“We couldn’t finalize a plan that we felt would elevate the experience beyond last year’s memorable event,” stated an NBA representative, Mike Bass. “All parties agreed to refrain from moving forward and instead shift our attention to the new format for All-Star Sunday.”
Curry had previously expressed his desire for this rematch, with ideas swirling about a potential 2-on-2 format featuring Klay Thompson, Curry’s former teammate, alongside reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year, Caitlin Clark.
However, discussions about this 2-on-2 concept appeared to falter in recent weeks. While the NBA remained optimistic about incorporating some version of the Curry vs. Ionescu duel into the Sunday lineup, it would not be part of All-Star Saturday as it was the year prior.
“I’ve been engaging in conversations about exploring various options for next year,” Ionescu mentioned after last year’s event, where both athletes made it clear that they were eager to bring back the competition. “I believe he has a potential partner in mind, and I’m open to any teammate that could help me secure that belt he displayed so proudly last time.”
In the previous year’s contest, Curry outperformed Ionescu with a score of 29-26 in the unique Steph vs. Sabrina challenge, the first of its kind to be featured in the league’s All-Star showcase. This competition also contributed to raising funds for their respective charitable foundations.
