The NBA all-star festivities took place over the weekend and were met with some pushback from the fans. This year’s dunk contest was relatively boring, with some interesting moves but nothing special. Anthony Edwards of the Timberwolves was shooting left-handed, Scottie Barnes of the Raptors tripped while trying to dribble the basketball in the skills challenge and Luka Doncic of the Mavericks shot a full court shot with plenty of time left on the shot clock. It was all just very chaotic. To me, the highlight of the weekend was the much-anticipated battle between WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty and NBA legend Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors. It was one of the better marketed segments from this past weekend, and it was completely worth the watch.
Ionescu gave Curry a run for his money in a highly competitive battle. She went toe-to-toe with the best shooter in NBA history, a guy who has won two NBA 3-point contests and is the all-time leader in 3-pointers made. The 26-year-old guard opened the battle by making her first seven shots. She went on to finish with a score of 26, tying the highest round total by any of the NBA players in their 3-point contest. Curry, the best shooter in NBA history, edged her out with a total of 29 himself, his last four securing the win. It was electric, fans were raving about the event on social media, the crowd was into it as well, all in all it created a great atmosphere, something that has been missing from the NBA all-star weekend the past couple of years.
While the actual game itself, played on Sunday, finished with an absurd final of 211-186 in favor of the Eastern Contest, it was Ionescu versus Curry that was still getting recognized online. The two of them even teased a sequel next year where they’d bring someone else into the fold to compete, with many thinking they’re hinting at Caitlyn Clark of Iowa who’ll get drafted at the end of the year.
This collaboration between the two leagues is mutually beneficial in multiple facets. For the NBA, it helps solve the issue of making their all-star weekend entertaining and marketable. The format has changed so much in the past couple years, but fans continue to rank it as one of the worst all-star festivities across the four major sports. Baseball and Hockey tend to get a better reception with the home run derby and skills challenge they both offer. With the dunk contest falling off in recent years, this ‘Battle of the Sexes’ type format brings in the NBA and WNBA audiences together to watch this product.
As for the WNBA, the implications from this are much more important as professional women’s sports are relatively newer. The WNBA played their first professional season in 1997, compared to the NBA which has been around since 1946. This year marked the inaugural season of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) which opened with just six teams. Right now, the average WNBA salary for the 2023-2024 season is $116,580 while the NBA is $10,821,680. There are notable gaps in viewership, advertising, wages, etc.
A challenge between WNBA and NBA players exposes the level of talent in the league to a broader audience and is only a positive for the league itself. After Ionescu and Curry’s matchup on Saturday, you can easily compare the shooting talent between the two. The few critics of the event will point to Ionescu using a women’s ball in the contest. She still shot from the NBA line and made 26, more than a lot of the NBA players could say they made this weekend.
Having a larger audience in turn should generate more fans for the WNBA, increasing their revenues to allow players and workers to get the raise in pay they deserve. People this weekend gained a lot of respect for the WNBA based off one challenge alone and helps continue to push women’s sports to the forefront of the sporting world.
The event is a win-win for both sides, and it’s only the first time it’s been done. Expanding the field has already been hinted at and should continue to be built upon after this year’s success. I’m hoping that this becomes the next staple of the NBA all-star festivities in the years to come.