NBA All-Star Weekend Betting: Steph Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu

As January turns to February, NBA All-Star Weekend is on the horizon.

With the festivities dawning on Indianapolis, this year's ASW will feature a monumental event never before seen on national television.

Of course, we all love the slam dunk contest, and the skills challenge regularly showcases sharp performances, but come February 17th, we'll see an NBA-WNBA challenge.

After a friendly spat on X (formerly known as Twitter), the NBA's all-time leader in three-pointers made -- Stephen Curry -- has called out WNBA sniper Sabrina Ionescu in a good, old-fashioned shoot-off. The first of its kind, this event will occur on All-Star Saturday night following the STARRY® 3-Point Contest and prior to the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest.

For transparency, Curry will be shooting from the NBA three-point line with 29.5" basketballs while Ionescu will take shots from the WNBA three-point stripe with a 28.5-inch circumference rock. As always, "money ball" makes will count for double -- may the best shooter win!

All NBA odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

NBA All-Star Weekend Betting

"Stephen vs. Sabrina" Three-Point Shootout

• Date: Saturday, February 17th, 2024
• Time: 8 p.m. ET
• TV: TNT
• Venue: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN

Sabrina Ionescu (+250)

Ionescu and her New York Liberty recently completed a WNBA season wherein they narrowly lost out on the title to the Las Vegas Aces.

In 2023, Ionescu did well as the Liberty's second-leading scorer (17.0 PPG) behind Breanna Stewart. From the land of three, Sabrina paced all WNBA players with 128 made shots behind a sizzling clip of 44.8%. For comparison, Curry has never shot better than 45.4% from three-point range in a full season.

FanDuel Sportsbook has Ionescu as a steep underdog in this market (+250 odds), not out of any slight to her, but simply because she is going head-to-head with the undisputed greatest shooter of all time: "Chef" Curry.

Ionescu -- an alumnus of Oregon -- grew up playing her high-school ball in the East Bay (Miramonte HS) while Curry and the Golden State Warriors were still holding home games in nearby Oakland. Needless to say, Ionescu absolutely has taken influence from Curry in her game, as the two hoopers have always maintained a friendly yet competitive relationship.

Genuinely, there doesn't seem to be much betting value on Curry here, but we should keep in mind: Ionescu's WNBA year ended back in October and won't restart again until May. To the contrary, Steph is more than 40 contests into his current campaign, which should reflect midseason form.

Steph Curry (-390)

Changing the modern game of basketball, Curry's shooting abilities have been something to marvel at over the past decade and a half. Before "Threezus" entered the NBA, we had not seen a player convert from the three-point stripe with both the efficiency and volume that Curry has displayed.

Before the 2023-24 season ends, Curry will have made his 3,600th three-pointer. No other NBA player has converted more than 3,000 shots from behind the arc: Ray Allen is second on the list with 2,973. Naturally, the separation there only grows larger each game.

As noted, the older of the Curry bros. had his most accurate three-point shooting campaign back in 2015-16 (45.4%). Lifetime, Wardell Stephen is at 42.6% from three, which is mind-blowing when you realize he has 8,406 career attempts in that category.

In terms of ASW three-point shootouts, Curry is part of an exclusive club of just six players to win the contest multiple times. Additionally, he shares the event record of 31 points (of 40 possible) in a single round.

Notably, Curry is not in the starting lineup of this year's All-Star Game. When he is healthy, he has started in every ASG since 2013-14 -- perhaps that motivates Chef to channel all energy into this duel with his friend Ionescu.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.