When Sabrina Ionescu takes the court docket for Friday evening’s 3-point contest, she gained’t be competing in opposition to simply her fellow All-Stars.
She’ll be chasing extra historical past.
“My goal is to try and beat my record,” Ionescu mentioned after her Liberty’s 98-77 win over the Indiana Fever on Wednesday evening. “Not sure if that’s going to happen, but I’m staying optimistic.”
This 12 months’s All-Star weekend in Indianapolis marks Ionescu’s first time collaborating within the 3-point contest since 2023, when she gained the occasion behind 37 factors within the last spherical — essentially the most ever for a WNBA or NBA participant.
“I just wanted to go out there and have fun,” Ionescu, 27, mentioned. “I think All-Star is a really fun weekend for the fans. I obviously know everyone’s wanted me to do it again since I’ve done it last, so I think this weekend presented a great opportunity to be able to go out there, have fun and see what happens.”
Ionescu is ready to be joined within the competitors at Gainbridge Fieldhouse by Los Angeles’ Kelsey Plum, Washington’s Sonia Citron and Atlanta’s Allisha Grey, who gained the competition final 12 months.
Fever famous person Caitlin Clark had additionally dedicated to take part, however she introduced Thursday that she would sit out of the 3-point contest and the All-Star Sport on her residence court docket after struggling a proper groin harm this week.
Ionescu ranks fifth within the WNBA with 50 made 3-pointers.
Whereas Ionescu didn’t participate in final 12 months’s WNBA 3-point contest, she confronted Stephen Curry in a head-to-head 3-point shootout in the course of the 2024 NBA All-Star weekend and narrowly misplaced, 29-26.
Ionescu mentioned she is “excited to be able to participate” within the WNBA 3-point contest for a second time.
“I had to really just wait to see what my schedule was going to look like, because that was really the determining factor,” Ionescu mentioned.
“There’s a lot jammed into a very short amount of time, and then you come back and you just get thrown into games. For me, it was just trying to see, one, if I was even available that night, and, two, how my weekend shaked out.”
Ionescu isn’t the one Liberty participant set to compete within the All-Star festivities. She and Breanna Stewart have been each chosen for Saturday evening’s All-Star Sport, whereas Natasha Cloud is ready to compete in Friday evening’s abilities problem.
Grey, who additionally gained the talents problem final 12 months, returns this 12 months to defend her title, whereas Minnesota’s Courtney Williams and Seattle’s Skylar Diggins and Erica Wheeler are additionally set to take part.
In her first season with the Liberty, Cloud is tied for third within the NBA with 6.0 assists per sport, and she or he is averaging 9.9 factors.
“We’re confident in her,” Ionescu mentioned of Cloud. “[She is] able to do a little bit of everything — she can pass, dribble, obviously she’s really fast, shoot — so I think she’s really excited. We’re gonna be there supporting her and cheering her on, and hopefully one of us wins.”
