The NBA All-Star weekend in February recorded the highest viewership in four years, with 10 million unique viewers. The reception from the street is that the Dunk Contest at the weekend was rather stale. So was the East vs West All-Star game, which the East won 211-186. Then how did the NBA still register such a staggering viewership? It was Stephen Curry‘s 3-point contest against Sabrina Ionescu that turned out to be the All-Star weekend’s crown jewel. Among the 10 million viewers, 5.4 million watched the 3-point battle! Now, USWNT legend Megan Rapinoe has deemed the Sabrina-Steph shootout as a classic case of women uplifting men’s sports.

Furthermore, Rapinoe not-so-subtly called out the NBA for thinking they gave Sabrina Ionescu an opportunity. The 2-time World Cup winner asserted Sabrina is ‘Mrs. Oregon’ and she doesn’t need the NBA’s feature to shine.

Megan Rapinoe asserts Stephen Curry and the NBA benefitted from Sabrina’s feature

Megan Rapinoe and her fiance and WNBA legend Sue Bird appeared in the latest episode of ‘A Touch More’ talk show. The Stephen Curry-Sabrina Ionescu clash, widely dubbed the Second Battle of Sexes after the famous previous tennis clash between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King, became a talking point in the show. “Shout out Sabrina. Just she’s a bucket. Shooter’s shoot. She was unbelievable and even having that whole thing does more for men’s sports than it does for Sabrina. It did more for Steph and did more for the NBA. The viewership that night peaked,” said Rapinoe. Thereafter, the 38-year-old called out the NBA.

“So we’re going to pretend like we’re giving Sabrina an opportunity to be on the big stage. She doesn’t need an opportunity. She has a signature shoe. What are we talking about? She’s like Mrs. Oregon. So again I feel she did more for the NBA and Steph and his image,” Rapinoe added.

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Anyhow, the USWNT veteran said she thinks Stephen Curry is a good guy and likes him. She concluded by jokingly apologizing to Curry, but staying stubborn in her praise of the New York Liberty centerpiece. Besides helping the All-Star viewership soar, Sabrina had notably equaled some of the NBA’s elite shooters that night.

When Sabrina Ionescu stood up to the NBA’s elite shooters

Stephen Curry held his forte as basketball’s 3-point King. It looked like Sabrina would topple the GSW superstar initially. But, the Warriors veteran turned clutch, turning in nine of his last 10 shots and finished the competition 29-26. However, no other shooter from the men’s game surpassed Sabrina’s 26-point mark. The likes of Damian Lillard, Tyrese Haliburton, Trae Young, and Karl Anthony Towns drew with the New York Liberty superstar with 26 points.

Notably, the NBA three-point line is two feet further from the WNBA three-point line. Yet, Sabrina did not want the NBA to compromise for her. Rather, she took it as a challenge to shoot from the NBA three-point line. And from there, she spellbindingly challenged the mighty Stephen Curry and equaled other superstar shooters. Considering all this, it was not so extra of Megan Rapinoe to tell the NBA to be thankful to Sabrina Ionescu.