SAN FRANCISCO — NBA commissioner Adam Silver said another Steph Curry-Sabrina Ionescu 3-point All-Star shootout didn’t materialize because it felt forced this year vs. the organic nature of the popular and energetic Curry-Ionescu showdown at last year’s All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis.
“Last year was so magical, that competition, that it started to feel forced (this year),” Silver said. “And I think there was concern from all of us that we just weren’t feeling it … even though I had been public, I had said that I was very hopeful or said it was going to happen again. And I think that it just got to the point where, I don’t know how to say it other than we just weren’t collectively feeling it. That it was such a unique moment last year. …
“It just seemed like coming back here, as exciting as it might have been, that this just wasn’t the right time to do it. And there’s no more to it than that.”
Last season at All-Star Weekend Indianapolis, Ionescu and Curry put on a 3-point show with Curry edging his friend 29-26, and there was talk the two players would return this season for another display of 3-point shooting.
Curry’s Warriors are the host, and Ionescu grew up in the Bay Area. Earlier this season, Silver indicated there would be a similar event this year.