Stephen Curry & Sabrina Ionescu on Historic NBA All-Star 3-Point Challenge

Stephen Curry & Sabrina Ionescu on Historic NBA All-Star 3-Point Challenge

First question in the front on the corner here on the right side right there go ahead on the right Steph uh Andy Show CNN Sports Sabrina went out there and put up an incredible score really put the pressure on you know you’re the greatest shooter of all time but were you a

Little nervous after her performance absolutely I saw the first wreck I think she made the first six I believe maybe seven um was having flashbacks of watching this summer and you know she said a a really you know great we were just talking about it no matter what

Competition whether it was this or the regular three-point competition we would have both been in the you know advance to the next round so it added a lot of pressure for sure and you just wanted to you know get off to a good start settle in thankfully you know made a made

Enough to to get over the top but that was perfect the way I mean great entertainment great shooting both sides and awesome 70 seconds for both of us clear after you cleared that first rack what what was going through your mind honestly just happy that we were able to

Get out there and start shooting um obviously there was a lot of buildup to this and and excitement around it and so I was I was just excited to be able to to finally have the opportunity to to get out there and um just shoot to be

Honest Dave right here s and Dave mCP with the SPN uh let’s be real here like if you got to shoot second and do the target score you’re walking away with the belt right like come on I mean we were we were talking about just getting

A second round like I I think we both finally just kind of got warm after sitting for a while and wanted to to run it back so uh maybe we’ll be able to evolve that next time but um obviously Steph won for a reason and um I’m G to

Have to try and beat him next time on the front and right Sabrina when you look at like what you’re able to do tonight how much do you think that’ll help the game of basketball I know people always say women’s basketball but skill shooting is for everyone yeah just

Basketball as a whole I think being able to have this crossover um and understanding the respect that I’ve been able to to receive from a lot of the NBA guys I mean you know just knowing that Steph wanted to do this as well and in terms of just respecting another shooter

And I think it’s going to show a lot of um young kids out there a lot of people who might have not believed or even watched women’s sports that um were able to go out there and and put on a show and so it was really exciting to find be

Able to do this and like Steph said it it happened perfectly Rachel over here hey Steph what do you know about Sabrina that you knew even coming into the night that this was going to be extremely competitive I was talking to we was talking about it yesterday you know when I first met

Her um back in the bay you know when right before the Oregon you know rocket ship went off you see a different demeanor and a different kind of killer Instinct and a focus that I mean the skill is one thing but the mentality is a whole a totally different thing that

You kind of can’t teach and she’s you know demonstrated that every step of the way um so I knew you know no matter how the buildup was there would been no stage I’d be too bright for her and you know the way that the the competition

Went you know she the way she started was like there’s no fear and there’s no kind of hesitation at all she knows who she is and and she also works like that’s that’s the thing that um you can’t the preparation you know to get a

Skill set like she has and and a shot like she has in an all-around game like there’s work that goes into it so it was demonstrated at a high level uh even tonight Sabrina was nice enough to share a photo of when she was 10 years old in

The tunnel seeing you and and that moment for her you going to make sure Riley gets a photo with her here Riley’s they we checked that box a couple years ago when she was uh at Oregon we brought the girls to a game at Cal and I was

Even saying just the way that she carries herself on and off the court she understands the the platform that she has and you know she took 30 45 seconds to talk to my girls and make them feel special and you know took a picture in the whole deal so she

She gets it and U this it’s a special special gift Tim six row back on this side Tim Reynolds with the Associated Press kind of for both of you you guys combined to shoot like 75 76% something crazy like that tonight on a lime green floor in a Stadium which probably

Something neither of you is used to how how cool is it that not just you’re able to do this but you both put on a show like this wasn’t if this had been 2118 this would have felt different probably the fact that you were both able to to

Put up a big number how how much more does that add to what you guys pulled up everything you just said is you know it goes into the form of like the entertainment value of what this you know that was obviously was a long buildup for you know two what 7 second

Rounds but I’ve been a 10 Allstar Weekend or a little bit more shooting Three-Point Contest like to have it with you know the new floor and there like 40,000 fans out here and people using the bathroom it’s all type of you know chaos around here like for us to deliver you

Know a show like that um it it was perfect like just as much excitement that you can build in that a short amount of time with you know two great Shooters going at it so uh pretty pretty special this will be something we remember for a long time third Center

Steph gel Padia filter 360 uh over your career you have won many awards and you have an humble level career U how do you feel that having this um challenge today contributed to wom basketball and it’s going to go into history as as as your

Top you were able to give back to that to that um Society it’s something I uh you just live like you don’t do things just to check a box and I’m stealing that from Sabrina she we mentioned like this is something if you’re supporting basketball and generally supporting

Women’s basketball is something that you continually do and you find you know new creative ways to you know have investment in their in the game the fact that this is a first of its kind in our sport the fact that uh it’s on this stage and the way that it

Went down like the fact that it’s supporting both of our foundations um the NBA Foundation as well so there’s a community impact you know component like all of that is uh a step in the right direction and we’ll always be able to say we were the first so that’s a that’s

A really cool cool accomplishment right here in the front Sabrina this is the NBA Allstar Weekend where you know historically some of the all of the best players in the NBA have come and played and be celebrated right you’ve come in here on a one-off event the first of its

Kind and you’re not only a guest You could argue this is maybe the Highlight the biggest event the most the one that most people are excited the most about what does it feel to you know have a space that didn’t even exist and be able

To create it to be able to come in fill it and at the same time deliver such a great performance yeah well I think that’s kind of been what both of us have done our entire careers is just created our own space and um done it our way and

Stayed true to ourselves and this was so authentic for the both of us to be able to be here um you know finally not in a closed gym shooting in front of um everyone watching and understanding what it means um for ourselves but also the bigger picture and and knowing that this

Is where I wanted to be to to be able to do this and so um obviously very thankful for everyone who’s helped make this um kind of dream that we both had a possibility and knowing that it’s it’s changed the landscape of how people are going to view what we’re doing and um

We’re very excited to see kind of what the future has to hold with more people having the opportunity to do stuff like this next question here uh Steph Andor Sao Lan from NBA Australia um I think we we all agree this is going to have an incredible impact on basketball around

The world what do you sort of Hope the immediate impact will be and then what do you sort of say the longer term impact being I think IM media just changed the conversation on you know for little boys and girls who are watching us play like

Doesn’t matter what gym you show up to don’t discount you know who’s to your left to your right if they can shoot they can shoot and you can compete and you can have fun um hopefully we can be you know uh I guess models of of what that

Looks like on the biggest stage um long term you know we’ll see it’s like I said it’s something that will me personally I know she’s you know an ambassador for basketball for women’s basketball she’s just getting started on her career so I’ll let her speak to that but it’s you

Continue to find you know awesome ways to um further the conversation on how amazing the women’s game is um getting the eyeballs on it you know and continue to to create energy around it and this was a small step in that direction last question in the center um this might be

Obvious to some maybe not to others but I think the next iteration of this would maybe be bringing um Caitlyn Clark into this next year um I was just curious what you guys thought could we see that next year uh and what you guys just

Think of her game as far as you know being in a shooter well we’ve been talking about finding um finding different ways to change this up next year and um I think he has a partner in mind that’s going to join him and so um I’m open to any

Partner that could help me win and and take that belt that he has up front and center away from him thank you both

Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu met with the media following the NBA All-Star 3-Point Challenge.