Curry vs. Ionescu: Odds, predictions, best bet at 2024 NBA All-Star weekend charity event

One of the most exciting events of Saturday’s NBA All-Star contests is actually not an official contest but a charity event. Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry will match up with New York Liberty point guard Sabrina Ionescu in a 3-point Contest with donations on the line.

The idea for the competition was first tossed around by Ionescu after she scored 37 points in the final round of last year’s WNBA 3-point Contest, winning the event and setting a record for the highest score in a single round in any 3-point Contest in the WNBA and NBA. Curry brought the challenge up again when he was mic’d up by TNT during a January 25 game against the Kings. Ionescu responded to Curry’s comments on social media and accepted the offer, bringing about this event. This competition will take place between the official 3-point Contest and the Dunk Contest.

Curry is competing for Eat.Learn.Play while Ionescu is competing for SI20, the player’s respective foundations. Both will receive a donation from the WNBA and NBA. State Farm will also donate to the NBA Foundation for every made shot. A regular triple is worth $1,000, a money ball is worth $2,000 and the “Starry” ball is worth $3,000.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Curry is a -220 favorite while Ionescu is a +160 underdog. The contest will operate in the same way as the official 3-point Contest. Curry will shoot NBA basketballs from the NBA 3-point line while Ionescu will shoot WNBA basketballs from the WNBA 3-point line.

Stephen Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu Best Bet

Curry is a two-time champion in this event at All-Star weekend and more importantly, is in season. He’s shooting 42.1% from deep on the year and pushed that number up to 46.5% over the last 15 games. In short, the Warriors point guard is coming into this contest on fire.

Ionescu is no slouch, shooting 42.2% from deep over her college career at Oregon. While she initially struggled from behind the arc in the WNBA, she connected on 44.8% of her triples a season ago and is the reigning WNBA 3-point Contest champion. She set a WNBA record last season with 128 made triples.

Even though I believe Ionescu is going to have a strong showing, there’s no 3-point Contest where I would ever pick against Curry. He’s the greatest shooter in NBA history and he’s on a heater entering this event. I’ll back him at -220 to win over Ionescu.