New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu received loads of messages and calls from her friends and family after knocking down a remarkable game-winning 3-pointer Wednesday night in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals.
But one stood out above all.
Warriors phenom Steph Curry, a close friend and mentor to Ionescu, sent the 26-year-old guard an overly expressive voice message that perfectly portrayed his excitement about the clutch dagger. That voice memo was described by Ionescu on ESPN's "NBA Today" when she was asked which text or phone call was her favorite.
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"I would say Steph," Ionescu told Malika Andrews. "Steph Curry left me a really funny voice memo of him just like screaming into the phone. And that was funny because we've just had a great relationship and he's been a big mentor of mine, and obviously through these Finals, just helping me mentally and physically stay ready and locked in.
"I'm excited to go get one more."
The best call or text Sabrina Ionescu received after hitting the game-winning logo three? 👀
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 17, 2024
A voice memo from Steph Curry 🙌 pic.twitter.com/yAbJa03hFg
Pretty fitting that the king of jaw-dropping clutch shots, including his "golden dagger" in the 2024 Paris Olympics with Team USA, was complimentary of such a shot.
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Curry also publicly reacted to the shot on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Call game them @sabrina_i20 https://t.co/Sa904L3ipU
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) October 17, 2024
SABRINA STEP-BACK WINS IT FOR THE LIBERTY 🔥 pic.twitter.com/UAsmAyz69U
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 17, 2024
With the game tied 77-77 with 10.9 seconds left, Ionescu pulled back from 28 feet and drained a contested trey to ultimately give New York the win and a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-five series.
She finished the game with 13 points, five rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block in 32 minutes.
Ionescu and the Liberty need just one more win to be crowned champs, and if that happens, Ionescu can expect yet another great message from Curry.