Tag: Sabrina Ionescu

Sabrina Ionescu gifts Iowa signature sneakers ahead of Final Four date vs. UConn

Surprise, surprise! Former Oregon and current WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu surprised Iowa with gifts and a message ahead of the Final Four.

When a team makes its way to the Final Four, there’s a good chance the stars are out.

That’s the case for Iowa women’s basketball as they gear up for Friday night’s showdown versus UConn with a trip to the national championship game on the line.

Iowa was surprised by former Oregon star guard and current New York Liberty point guard Sabrina Ionescu. The two-time WNBA All-Star came bearing gifts for the Hawkeyes.

Ionescu delivered her brand new Sabrina 1 “Exclama!on” sneakers to the Hawkeyes. She also had a heartfelt message for Iowa.

“Enjoy what you guys have done so far, enjoy where you’re at. It’s a lot bigger than yourselves and I think you guys are seeing that from what you guys have been able to do in the last couple years here, but how it’s just changed sport and how it’s changed the lives of so many people in your guys’ area but also just around the world.

“Enjoy playing for one another. You’re never going to get another room like this. There’s never going to be another team that you guys are going to be on that feels like this. Be proud of how you guys have represented yourself, represented your team and what you’ve done for everyone, not just Iowa basketball,” Ionescu said.

As a Nike school, Iowa also received Final Four gear, including Nike Tech sweatpants, sweatshirts, team bags and signature “Cleveland” long-sleeved shirts.

The Hawkeyes face UConn on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN with a berth in the national championship game on the line against the winner of North Carolina State and South Carolina in the other national semifinal.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions.

Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF

New player poll from The Athletic paints Oregon’s Kelly Graves in a poor light

A mass exodus and player polls paint Oregon’s Kelly Graves in a poor light.

For the second year in a row, Oregon Ducks women’s basketball has been sent into a tailspin at the start of the offseason.

On Wednesday morning, three Ducks entered the transfer portal. Two of them were the team’s best players, leaving the roster full of unknowns.

The next step for Oregon will be trying to replace those players with transfer additions of its own, but that may be tough for head coach Kelly Graves. In a straw poll by the Athletic, players around the country were asked which coach they’d like to play for least, and Graves ranked second.

The champion of that list was, unsurprisingly, LSU’s Kim Mulkey, who is infamous for her harsh words and attitude toward players. Mulkey received 32 of the 48 votes, while Graves received seven votes. That seems small in comparison, but second place is second place, especially on a list like that.

Not long ago, Graves’ Ducks were at the top of the basketball world, due in part to his aptitude for talent acquisition. In 2020, Oregon was in the fast lane on the road to a national championship before the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. On that team were several WNBA-caliber talents, none greater than Sabrina Ionescu, who was one of the best women’s college basketball players ever, and has gone on to greater heights as the point guard for the New York Liberty.

Three years later the narrative has flipped. Throughout the past season, there was a growing sentiment among fans that Graves’ chair should be heating up. That sentiment was fueled by the Ducks’ 14-game losing streak to end the season — the longest losing streak in program history.

The Ducks need a roster overhaul, but it will be hard to bring in elite players with the program led by one of the coaches players would like to play for the least. And if Graves can’t figure out how to bring in a talented team, he will be on the hot seat.

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Kenny Smith issued a feckless non-apology for Sabrina Ionescu comments at All-Star weekend

Kenny Smith says he was advocating for Sabrina Ionescu, but nobody is entitled to believe him.

Kenny Smith’s All-Star Weekend comments on Sabrina Ionescu have the internet buzzing, but he’s not backing down. He recently told Stephen A. Smith that he was advocating for Sabrina when he suggested she should have shot from the WNBA line against Stephen Curry.

The first-ever NBA vs. WNBA 3-point contest was nearly soured by comments made by TNT analyst Kenny Smith. Kenny surmised that Sabrina Ionescu should have shot from the WNBA line against Stephen Curry to make things “fair.” He also compared the contest to why gender-specific tees are used in golf.

Basketball fans immediately roasted him, but Kenny argued that he was advocating for Sabrina during a recent appearance on the Stephen A. Smith show. (See the clip below and the 23:03 mark of the YouTube video.)

Here’s what Smith said:

“I think it’s much ado about nothing, Stephen. Most people who know basketball understood what I was talking about. Actually, I was advocating for her more than anything else.“

Kenny tells Stephen A. that basketball is muscle memory and that if you are not shooting from where you practice, it will mess with your accuracy. He admits that both players could have made other adjustments but re-emphasizes that muscle memory is at one line.

What stands out most about his new comments is that Kenny quips, “Most people just don’t check the tape. They want just to check the bait.” (24:56 mark of the above video)  The irony is that if he had bothered to check the tape on Sabrina, he would have known she didn’t shoot from the WNBA line. When she tweeted that she would shoot from the NBA line, it was because that was already her normal range.

For example, during an August 2023 game, Sabrina made six three-pointers well beyond the WNBA line. At the 1:14 mark of the video below, the broadcast can be heard saying, “Look at how deep she is, and that is normal range for her.” She likely couldn’t shoot as many 3-pointers as Steph Curry during the contest because she isn’t shooting that kind of high volume regularly (over 15 consecutive shots), not because she isn’t capable.

Sabrina earned the same amount of points during her shootout with Steph as Damian Lillard, Karl-Anthony Towns, Trae Young, and Tyrese Haliburton did from the same NBA line. How quickly people forget that Sabrina owns the 3-point contest record for both the WNBA and NBA. Steph Curry does not hold that record despite being the greatest shooter ever. So, Sabrina almost taking down the metaphorical Thanos of basketball on her first try should speak volumes about her abilities.

Sabrina Ionescu gave Bille Jean King vibes in NBA 3-Point Contest

The 3-Point Contest was reminiscent of the Battle of the Sexes between tennis legends Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973.

During the 2023 WNBA All-Star Weekend, Sabrina Ionescu won the 3-point contest and shattered the record held by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry by amassing 37 points. This set the stage for a head-to-head contest between Ionescu and Curry at the 2024 NBA All-Star Game.

This contest proved one of the highlights of All-Star Weekend. While Ionescu finished with 26 points, Curry won with a solid 29 points. However, the competition was about much more than whomever won. It was about appreciating talented players, despite their gender or league.

Shooters can shoot. Period.

It was reminiscent of the Battle of the Sexes between tennis legends Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973. More than 30,000 people were in attendance at the match, which King won in straight sets — 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 — and took home the $100,000 prize money. But, much like the 3-point contest, the real prize was what it meant for women’s sports and the fight for equality, equity and inclusion.

“I don’t know what’s going to come out of it, but me and Sabrina talked about how cool of an opportunity it is to do something that’s never been done before in our game,” Curry said. “And for her to have a presence on this stage is going to do a lot to inspire the next generation of young boys and girls that want to compete and see themselves in either one of us. Wherever it goes from there, we know we can kind of plant our flag as doing something really special.”

The viewership for NBA All-Star Saturday night was the highest in four years, with an audience peak at 5.4 million viewers from 10-10:15 p.m. ET during the 3-point contest.

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Top 10 3-point shooters in Notre Dame women’s basketball history

Who has most hit from downtown in Irish history?

Several months back, former Notre Dame guard [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag] advanced to the finals of the annual WNBA 3-Point Contest. But nobody was going to beat Sabrina Ionescu, whose final-round score of 37 was higher than even the highest score ever recorded in the NBA version of the contest. Almost immediately, many wondered how Ionescu would favor in a shootout with NBA 3-point king Stephen Curry.

This past NBA All-Star Weekend, fans got their wish. It was the highlight of the weekend with Curry needing the final rack to beat Ionescu, 29-26. There are hopes that something like this can continue next year and beyond, especially with women’s basketball increasing in popularity.

While we contemplate the future of women’s basketball and only can guess what it holds, we know who’s helped lay the groundwork for that future. Among them are the top 3-point shooters in Notre Dame history. Since 3-pointers are the latest thing to bring male and female basketball players together, let’s see who rounds out the top 10 for the Irish:

Sue Bird said that Sabrina Ionescu and Steph Curry’s 3-point contest should’ve had a woman in the announcing crew

Sue Bird thinks the NBA screwed up with its announcers for Sabrina Ionescu and Steph Curry.

Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu’s iconic three-point contest should’ve been a fantastic celebration of basketball. Two of the best shooters in the world, in two different leagues, meeting up for a fun shootout from deep in Indianapolis? What more could you ask for?

A thoughtful woman’s announcer next to Reggie Miller and Kevin Harlan might have been a great start. That’s according to Sue Bird.

Instead of gushing about the contrasting styles and dynamic energy Curry and Ionescu bring to the court, Kenny Smith was rightfully pilloried for suggesting Ionescu should’ve shot behind the women’s standard three-point line even though she only lost by three. Also, her final score of 26 was equal to Damian Lillard’s winning total during the other three-point contest.

Surely not a coincidence, Bird appreciated the final results of Curry and Ionescu’s duel but lamented that there wasn’t a woman’s voice offering a nuanced perspective:

The league should learn a valuable lesson from this moment since this probably won’t be the only time an NBA and WNBA star square off in an All-Star Weekend event. Have an insightful booth featuring both perspectives, and everyone can just zero in on the fun.

Steph Curry defeats Sabrina Ionescu in historic 3-point competition at All-Star weekend

Steph Curry took home the victory in a historic 3-point competition against WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu.

Before making his 10th appearance in the NBA All-Star game, Steph Curry competed in the first-of-its-kind contest against WNBA star guard Sabrina Ionescu. The duo of sharpshooters squared off against each other in a special NBA vs. WNBA 3-point competition.

Shooting first, Ionescu started strongly, hitting her first seven shots. Putting immense pressure on Curry, Ionescu caught fire, scoring 26 points in her first round.

Despite Ionescu’s strong performance from beyond the arc, Curry went to work. After missing two of his first three shots, Curry found his rhythm, making nine of his next 10 from deep. On his final two racks, Curry only missed one shot to finish with a score of 29.

Via @NBA on X:

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and X! 

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Joel Embiid, NBA Twitter react to Kenny Smith’s comments on Sabrina Ionescu: ‘He been drinking’

The one-on-one three-point contest between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu was a highlight of the All-Star Saturday in Indianapolis. NBA fans were upset by TNT’s Kenny Smith’s remarks. He argued with Reggie Miller, saying Ionescu didn’t shoot from …

The one-on-one three-point contest between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu was a highlight of the All-Star Saturday in Indianapolis. NBA fans were upset by TNT’s Kenny Smith‘s remarks. He argued with Reggie Miller, saying Ionescu didn’t shoot from the WNBA line and that it wasn’t fair she used a smaller ball.

Here’s how NBA Twitter and even Joel Embiid reacted to Smith’s comments.

Sabrina Ionescu narrowly loses to Steph Curry in inaugural WNBA-NBA three-point contest

Oregon Ducks legend Sabrina Ionescu competed in the first ever NBA vs. WNBA three point contest on Saturday night against Steph Curry.

In the first-ever competition between members of the WNBA and the NBA, former Oregon Ducks star Sabrina Ionescu was narrowly defeated by Steph Curry, the NBA’s all-time leading three-point scorer. Ionescu scored 26 and Curry scored 29 of 40 possible points.

Before Steph and Sabrina’s head-to-head showdown, eight NBA players competed in the NBA’s annual three-point contest. For the second year in a row, Damian Lillard took home the trophy, scoring 26 points in the final round. Other than Curry’s 29 points, 26 was the highest score of any shooter on Saturday night.

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The origin of this contest began after Ionescu set the all-time three-point contest record (37/40 possible points) in 2023. Minutes after her victory, she and Curry suggested a head-to-head competition between the two of them on Twitter. Then in January, the NBA announced that the competition would take place during the NBA’s All-Star weekend.

After the contest, during Ionescu and Curry’s on-court interviews, TNT’s Ernie Johnson highlighted Ionescu’s trailblazing impact on the WNBA and women in sports. This competition was the first time a member of the WNBA has competed against an NBA player in an official capacity.

“I think a night like tonight shows a lot of young girls and young boys that, if you can shoot, you can shoot,'” Ionescu said after the contest.

Sabrina Ionescu can certainly shoot, and although she couldn’t win Saturday night, she showed a lot of people that she is one of the best shooters and best basketball players in the world.

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Fans roasted Kenny Smith after he said Sabrina Ionescu should have had shorter 3-point line vs. Steph Curry

Kenny Smith embarrassed himself with these comments.

Stephen Curry in a one-on-one 3-point contest against WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu was the highlight of NBA All-Star Weekend.

Curry managed to narrowly defeat Ionescu, who was shooting from NBA range during the competition a Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. It was a competitive battle between two of the greatest shooters in the sport and it was thrilling to watch for the fans.

That is why it was especially disappointing when TNT’s Kenny Smith suggested that Ionescu should have shot the ball from the WNBA 3-point line.

Ionescu performed extraordinarily well, she just had the impossible task of going against Curry. Few people on the planet could have made it even half as competitive as she did.

So naturally, hoops fans roasted Smith for his immediate commentary about the shooting distance in the competition.