The first-ever NBA vs. WNBA 3-point battle definitely delivered in every way possible.
It featured Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry up against New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu, two of the best shooters in their respective leagues.
Ionescu nearly topped Curry in the matchup as she was shooting from the NBA 3-point line, which is about 12 to 18 inches farther from the WNBA line depending on the area of the floor.
The commentary during the matchup was something that caught the eye of viewers as fans became upset with TNT broadcaster Kenny Smith and his suggestion after Curry had only beaten Ionescu by three points.
“She should have shot it from the women’s line,” the former Houston Rockets guard said. “That would have been a fair contest. I still support Sabrina. But she should have shot it from at the women shoot from.”
“She should have shot from the line. There is a women’s tee in golf and there is a men’s tee for a reason,” he added.
Smith said he wanted Ionescu to shoot from where she shoots from in the WNBA.
His commentary was met with backlash:
As much as I’ve loved Kenny’s basketball analysis, his comments last night were out of bounds. Appreciate the fact that she pretty much outshot everybody in the 3pt contest. Game should appreciate game. TNT should demand that he address his comments. Very insulting. https://t.co/5SRLvktk3z
— Farhan Ali (@farhanali4real) February 18, 2024
Kenny Smith is an idiot so no surprise there but if she chooses to shoot from the NBA line, why is that being discouraged?? https://t.co/lx2WjdKgoV
— Meet the Mess (@nyc_sportz) February 18, 2024
Kenny made the whole thing unwatchable. This was after he spent 30 minutes saying KAT should stop shooting threes and post up more, Donovan is “not a shooter,” and that he/Reggie would walk down from the booth at age 50+ and knock down 20-25. He is the worst kind of old head https://t.co/i8ZypbpVIx
— Justin (@justin_tweeting) February 18, 2024
Credit to Ionescu for shooting lights out but the ball size matters when you account for the difficulty of shooting. https://t.co/VBNt26yGBO
— Pointing out Overrated takes (@OverratedTakes) February 18, 2024
I don’t understand the logic behind the wnba ball being a sign of Ionescu having an advantage?? If Steph shot with the wnba ball he 100% would have done worse. https://t.co/csoitI0clx
— Donal Thoms-Cappello (@donaltc) February 19, 2024
Knew Twitter was coming for Kenny Smith , those comments were unnecessary.
She scored a 26 which tied the highest score of the actual competition just before her vs Steph. Kenny was a little tone deaf last night. https://t.co/plFojZjih8
— Ve’Jhon Johnson (@VLJ21) February 18, 2024
Ionescu didn’t want to shoot from the women’s 3-point line of 20 feet, 6 inches. Instead, she leveled the playing field and shot from the NBA line of 23 feet, 9 inches.
She only lost by three. Ionescu made every shot from the first rack, ending with 26 points.
Ionescu set a record for both leagues with a whopping 37-point round in the 3-point contest during last summer’s WNBA All-Star Weekend.
