WNBA champion and Olympic gold medalist Sabrina Ionescu raved about the idea of having a 4-point line in the WNBA, after getting a feel of it at the Big Dome following the PBA's innovation.
Count New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu among the believers of the 4-point line, which the PBA has since pioneered after officially adding the shot to official game play starting last year.
Ionescu, a known sharpshooter, weighed in on the PBA’s innovation during her offseason tour with a popular sports brand, entertaining the idea of the 4-point line as something to spice things up, especially since play has went into the direction of shooting more long distance shots.
“I would love it. I definitely know I would enjoy it. I think it kind of brings a flair to the game that fans obviously love,” Ionescu told media during an interview session at The Peninsula Manila in Makati.
“I think that's something you always kind of have to listen to is the direction that the game is headed, and obviously that's kind of played outside the three-point line [now] and that's just where the game is,” she added.
During her Craft the Future showcase at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Tuesday, Ionescu herself tried her hand at the 4-point line. After a few tries to get herself recalibrated, the 4-point shot became second nature to the WNBA champion.
Taking turns playing for the two teams in the Nike-sponsored event, Ionescu was able to drill a handful of 4-pointers, which was to the delight of the thousands of fans who flocked to the Big Dome to catch the Olympic gold medalist.
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The 27-year-old also participated in a three-point shootout, which saw Gilas Pilipinas’ Khate Castillo actually win the competition.
For Ionescu, going beyond the arc is the way to go, and with so many players now shooting threes, introducing a newer challenge in the 4-point line will help evolve the game more.
“I mean everyone's shooting more threes, [and] everyone's playing faster basketball. Posts are stepping outside and playing from behind the line so I think it'd be awesome to be able to see that at some point kind of evolve our game as well,” she said.
Technically a “4-point shot” has been introduced in the WNBA to some extent, with the league designating spots where shots would count as four points during the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game, which Ionescu also participated in.
But the league hasn’t implemented a full 4-point line at the moment.
The NBA also recently shut down the implementation of a 4-point line in the NBA All-Star Game, with NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum saying that it is not in the pipeline just yet.
Still, with Ionescu getting behind it, it may not be far behind before the WNBA, or even the NBA, find a way to innovate in the same way that the PBA has sooner or later.