Isiah Thomas thinks the NBA forgot to include someone in the 3-point battle between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu on Saturday night during All-Star Weekend.
The former NBA point guard and Knicks executive said on NBA TV that he wants to see Iowa State star Kaitlyn Clark, women’s college basketball’s all-time leading scorer, play against Curry and Ionescu on Thursday because ” Because she’s the real deal.” ”
“That’s the kind of guy that should be in this tournament,” Thomas said.
Analyst Grant Hill, who also appeared on the NBA TV segment, named Ionescu as the favorite to win, but Thomas agreed with Curry’s prediction, even though he vouched for Clark.
“I’m going with Steph,” Thomas said. “But I’ll tell you this: Neither of them are the best shooters, because right now it’s that Caitlin Clark I want to see.” I want to see her at this tournament. …Let’s bring in Caitlin and have them both shoot. ”
Clark made 38.3 percent of 1,271 3-pointers during his time at Iowa, and hit 39.9 percent this season, helping Iowa finish fourth in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll.
As she broke the scoring record, passing Kelsey Plumb’s 3,527 points and closing in on the all-time college basketball record with Pete Maravich (3,667 points), Clark attempted and made a 3-pointer from the logo. . After the game the reporters said, “I thought you were going to shoot Logo 3 for the record, come on.”
But Saturday night, only Curry and Ionescu, who shot 42.7 percent and 37.7 percent from 3-point range, respectively, during their pro careers will be in a special 3-point contest.
Ionescu broke the NBA and WNBA 3-point contest record with 37 points in July, but Curry initially challenged Ionescu to a contest after reacting to a “ridiculous” post on X.
“He wants to beat me,” Ionescu told reporters on Saturday. According to the NBA“So I can say that. He’s not taking it easy. He was booing me yesterday when I was practicing and trying to get it into my head.”
That will unfold Saturday at 8 p.m., and if Thomas’ vision for the tournament comes to fruition, he will likely include Clark again next year.
