Stephen Curry-Sabrina Ionescu 3-point rematch off

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Despite last-minute efforts to bring back the Stephen Curry-Sabrina Ionescu showdown, it won't happen in this year’s NBA All-Star Game

There will be no rematch of the hugely popular three-point contest between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu at this weekend’s NBA All-Star Game.

Curry, of the Golden State Warriors, and the New York Liberty’s Ionescu hinted that there could be a rematch after Curry won, 29-26, last February in Indianapolis.

It was confirmed Thursday, February 13, that despite last-minute efforts to bring back the event, it won’t happen.

All-Star weekend begins Friday, February 14, and culminates Sunday, February 16, at Chase Center in San Francisco — the home court of Curry and the home area of Ionescu.

“We weren’t able to land on a plan we thought would raise the bar off of last year’s special moment. We all agreed not to proceed and will instead keep the focus on All-Star Sunday’s new format,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said, per The Athletic.

The report said Curry and Ionescu weren’t interested in another one-on-one competition and wanted to include Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever and potentially Curry’s former teammate, Klay Thompson. 

Clark, however, declined last month, saying in a statement that she wanted her debut in the three-point contest to come this summer at the WNBA All-Star events on her home court in Indianapolis.

A last-ditch effort by the NBA on Wednesday to lure Curry and Ionescu into a competition didn’t materialize, per The Athletic.

The failure to secure the rematch must have come as a shock to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who, when speaking to reporters in Mexico City in November, foreshadowed Part II.

“They know they’re going to be doing this again,” Silver said, per The Athletic. “They’re looking forward to it. I think as soon as they walked off the court after the competition last year, they said, in fact, they said we need more than one round. So we’re going to be doing more.”

Curry, 36, is a four-time NBA champion and the league’s all-time leader in both three-point attempts and makes, shooting a career 42.4%.

Ionescu, 27, is a 36.4% three-point shooter through her first five WNBA seasons. – Rappler.com