Sabrina Ionescu Reveals Plans For Prize Money From WNBA 3-Point Contest Win

“I told Sonia that I would give her half if I won when we were sitting on the bench," Ionescu said. “As being the only rookie, she was nervous, and I was nervous for her. I obviously have to hold up my end of the bargain, so half is gonna go to her."

For being “nervous” the former Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard put on a decent performance in her own right. Citron did finish in fifth place of the five-player field, but tallied a respectable score of 19 points in the first round.

“I gotta text her and let her know that I'm gonna give her half of it. Just for participating, like, that takes a lot of courage to be able to do that as a rookie,” Ionescu continued. “I was really proud of her.”

Ionescu said that the other half of her prize money will go to her foundation, SI20, which aims to “inspire kids to stay active through sport while building relationships with their teammates to foster deeper community connections.”

Ionescu Joins Elite Company With Win

The Liberty guard secured her second 3-Point Contest win, joining former Chicago Sky great Allie Quigley as the only players in WNBA history to win it multiple times.

Ionescu also won the event in 2023, when she made history with 25 makes on 27 shots, equaling a score of 37. After not competing in 2024, Ionescu faced off against the reigning champion, Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray, in the final.

Both Ionescu and Gray scored 25 in the first round to advance. While Gray backed up her first-round score with 22 in the final, Ionescu scored 30 points to win the competition. She hit 11 shots in a row to leave no doubt as to who would take home the hardware.

It wasn’t the first time Ionescu competed in a three-point shootout in Indianapolis, Indiana. The New York star faced off against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry at NBA All-Star 2024 in “Stephen vs. Sabrina.” The NBA star defeated Ionescu 29-26, which she said motivated her in this year’s WNBA competition.

"The last time I was here in Indy against Steph I lost,” Ionescu said on the ESPN broadcast. “So, I feel like I had to come back and redeem myself.”

Liberty Sweep All-Star Events

Ionescu wasn’t the only Liberty guard to win big on All-Star Friday night. Her teammate Natasha Cloud emerged victorious in the only other event, the Skills Challenge.

Cloud posted a first-round time of 34.1 seconds to face Seattle Storm guard Erica Wheeler in the final. Cloud narrowly edged out Wheeler by sprinting to make her final layup with a final time of 36.4 seconds. Ionescu was among the first people to congratulate her Liberty teammate.  

Despite New York being first in the Eastern Conference and only trailing the Minnesota Lynx for the best record in the league, the franchise went on a bit of a skid heading into the All-Star break. The Liberty went 5-5 in their last 10 games, accounting for all but one of their losses this season.

With the reigning champions’ backcourt earning additional accolades to their name, perhaps the duo’s victories will spark momentum entering the second half of the season.