Why have fans criticized Kenny Smith after Steph Curry vs Sabrina Ionescu 3-point contest?

On Saturday night, basketball fans were treated to a first-of-its-kind moment when Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry went head-to-head with WNBA star and New York Liberty sharpshooter Sabrina Ionescu in a three-point contest. A major moment for both leagues and a massive step forward in terms of recognition of the women’s side of the sport. Unfortunately, it appears that’s not how everyone saw it and that has become a major talking point.

What happened and what did Kenny Smith say?

As mentioned above, Saturday offered up a unique moment when both the WNBA And NBA came together for the betterment of the sport as a whole. As Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu put on a show for fans in Indianapolis, it was clear that we were witnessing something special. Now, while Ionescu lost to Curry by just three points, one could argue that there were only winners that night. After all, the Liberty star’s tally of 26 was the same registered by Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard, the winner of the NBA’s traditional 3-point contest which also occurred on Saturday night.

Yet, this is where we get to how things went off track. Following the duel between Curry and Ionescu, TNT’s analyst and former NBA player Kenny Smith began a rather bizarre line of commentary about the WNBA’s best shooter. “She should have shot it from the women’s line,” Smith said. “That would have been a fair contest. I still root for Sabrina...But she should have shot from the three-point line that the women shoot from.” Co-host and former Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller then asked Smith why he placed “those boundaries” on Ionescu when she openly requested to shoot from the NBA’s three-point line.

At that point, Smith stood firm. “She should have shot from the line. There is a women’s tee in golf and there is a men’s tee for a reason.” Now, while we’re not here to take sides, it shouldn’t be hard to see why Smith’s comments were not well received, furthermore, he had other things of a similar nature to say as well. Indeed, one only has to take a glance at social media to see how angry many fans were and still are. Below you can see a snippet of how fans and some players - we see you Joel Embiid - reacted to Smith’s commentary, but be advised that some folks didn’t hold back.

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