Like every kid growing up in the Bay Area, Sabrina Ionescu idolized Warriors superstar Steph Curry.
But in an opportunity not as common to the average Bay Area native, Ionescu now is bracing for a special full-circle moment with Curry.
"I have this picture up, I think I was about 10 years old and giving him a high five in the tunnel," Ionescu recently explained ahead of her special event at All-Star Weekend. "Obviously, being from the Bay Area, he was that player that I idolized growing up."
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Fifteen years after that short yet unforgettable exchange with Curry, Ionescu now will share the court with her idol Saturday at NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis during a never-done-before NBA vs. WNBA 3-point shootout between the two sharpshooters.
Curry, in his 15th NBA season with the Warriors, accepted the challenge from Ionescu, who is in her fourth WNBA season with the New York Liberty, after she set the all-time record for NBA or WNBA with a score of 37 points in the final round of last year's 3-point contest.
While the entire basketball world will tune into the epic 3-point contest between two of the game's most electrifying shooters, with some WNBA and NBA players, fans and pundits already sharing their predictions on the outcome, Ionescu is just soaking in how far she's come from that moment as a 10-year-old little girl to the woman she is now.
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"This moment for me is much bigger than just a shootout," Ionescu said, "knowing that I could've never dreamed of an opportunity to share the court and the floor with someone that I've looked up to since I was 10 years old. So kind of just understanding where I'm at right now and knowing that little me could've never fathomed this opportunity, and kind of playing for her."
The competition is set to begin after the 3-Point Contest and before the Slam Dunk Contest. All-Star Saturday Night will begin at 5 p.m. PT.
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