Women's Fastbreak On SI

Sabrina Ionescu's Big Shot Led to a Screaming Message From Steph Curry

Steph Curry's loud reaction to Sabrina Ionescu's iconic three-pointer on Wednesday left an impression on the New York Liberty superstar.

Grant Young

Oct 16, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) celebrates her 3-point basket against the Minnesota Lynx during the second half of game three of the 2024 WNBA Finals at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Oct 16, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) celebrates her 3-point basket against the Minnesota Lynx during the second half of game three of the 2024 WNBA Finals at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

New York Liberty star guard Sabrina Ionescu drained what has got to be the most iconic shot in the 2024 WNBA season on Wednesday night.

Ionescu's Liberty squad had the ball in a tie game with about 10 seconds left in regulation against the Minnesota Lynx. Ionescu caught the inbound, dribbled back and forth around the perimeter for a few seconds looking to create some offense, then pulled up for a deep three-point attempt over Lynx star Kayla McBride with 3 seconds left on the game clock.

The shot hit nothing but net.

The entire basketball community went berzerk after the shot, which gave the Liberty an 80-77 win and put them up 2-1 in the 2024 WNBA Finals.

While there were plenty of basketball icons who showed Ionescu love after the big shot, Ionescu revealed to SportsCenter on Thursday that the coolest message she received in the shot's aftermath was from a former competitor of hers: Golden State Warriors legend Steph Curry.

"I would say Steph Curry left me a really funny voice memo of him just like screaming into the phone," Ionescu said. "And that was funny because we've just had a great relationship and he has been a big mentor of mine.

"And obviously, through these Finals, [Curry] just helping me mentally and physically to just stay ready and locked in, [I'm] excited to go get one more," Ionescu added.

Of course, Ionescu and Curry faced off in the first-ever NBA vs. WNBA 3-Point Challenge at the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend, which was called 'Stephen vs. Sabrina'.

Clearly there's a ton of mutual respect and admiration between these two world-class clutch sharpshooters.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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