When seeing some of the performances in the 3-Point Contest on NBA and WNBA All-Star Weekends, it can be easy to take for granted that players are shooting in a competitive setting. They aren’t just getting up shots at the gym, where certain players are borderline automatic.
New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu could have fooled fans watching the WNBA contest on Friday. She dominated the competition with a score of 37 out of 40 in the final round.
MORE: Ionescu sets 3-Point Contest record, Aces wins Skills Challenge
The performance secured the NBA 2K24 cover athlete an easy win. She entered the round needing 11 points to avoid elimination.
At one point, Ionescu hit 20 shots in a row, a record for both the NBA and WNBA shootout. Her 37 points were also a record for a round, surpassing the 31 by Tyrese Haliburton in 2023 and Stephen Curry in 2021. The previous WNBA record was Allie Quigley’s 30 in 2022.
Pick a superlative to describe the performance.
Sabrina Ionescu (@sabrina_i20) just set the all-time record for NBA or WNBA with a score of 37 PTS in the FINAL ROUND of the #Starry3PT Contest to be crowned the NEW 3-PT CHAMPION 🏆 | @starrylemonlime pic.twitter.com/YcGy3fDfBq
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 14, 2023
The 40-point format hasn’t been in place in the NBA and WNBA for very long; it debuted in 2020, when Buddy Hield won the NBA competition. But regardless of format, 25 of 27 shots made is an otherworldly pace.
“Yeah, I knew they were going in,” Ionescu said afterward, per ESPN. “There’s adrenaline. It was the final round. I had just lost in the skills (competition) and I wasn’t going to lose again.”
Who won the WNBA 3-Point Contest in 2023?
New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu dominated in the final round to secure her first WNBA 3-Point Contest win.
She scored 26 of a possible 40 points in the first round, good for second place, before scoring 37 out of 40 in the final round, crushing the Seattle Storm’s Sami Whitcomb, who scored 24.
Ionescu made 25 of 27 shots, including 20 in a row at one point, an NBA and WNBA record.
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Ionescu unseated the previous WNBA record-holder, Chicago Sky star Allie Quigley, who had 30 in a round in 2022. Quigley did not compete this year as she took a break from the WNBA. The four-time 3-point contest winner was, however, in attendance to watch Ionescu’s legendary performance.
Best single-round scores in NBA & WNBA 3-point contests since 2020
A look at the best single-round scores in the NBA and WNBA 3-point contests under the current 40-point format:
| Year | Player | Score | Round | Team |
| 2023 | Sabrina Ionescu | 37 | Second | New York Liberty |
| 2023 | Tyrese Haliburton | 31 | First | Indiana Pacers |
| 2021 | Stephen Curry | 31 | First | Golden State Warriors |
| 2022 | Allie Quigley | 30 | Second | Chicago Sky |
| 2022 | Karl-Anthony-Towns | 29 | Second | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2023 | Sami Whitcomb | 28 | First | Seattle Storm |
| 2022 | Luke Kennard | 28 | First | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 2021 | Stephen Curry | 28 | Second | Golden State Warriors |
| 2021 | Mike Conley | 28 | First | Utah Jazz |
| 2021 | Allie Quigley | 28 | First | Chicago Sky |
| 2021 | Allie Quigley | 28 | Second | Chicago Sky |
| 2021 | Jonquel Jones | 27 | First | Connecticut Sun |
| 2021 | Mike Conley | 27 | Second | Utah Jazz |
| 2020 | Devin Booker | 27 | First | Phoenix Suns |
| 2020 | Buddy Hield | 27 | First | Sacramento Kings |
| 2020 | Buddy Hield | 27 | Second | Sacramento Kings |
Ionsecu’s .957 shooting percentage was also the best final-round mark in WNBA history.
