Mavericks’ Dereck Lively II had an awesome reaction to meeting Sabrina Ionescu

Mavericks rookie Dereck Lively II met Sabrina Ionescu at NBA All-Star Weekend and had an awesome reaction to seeing her.

Dallas Mavericks rookie Dereck Lively II met Sabrina Ionescu at NBA All-Star Weekend and had an awesome reaction to seeing the New York Liberty guard in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Lively recounted the story on Friday after helping Team Jalen to the championship victory in the Rising Stars game. With so many stars attending the festivities, Lively said it was meeting Ionescu that stood out the most so far.

Ionescu will face Stephen Curry in the Stephen vs. Sabrina 3-Point Challenge on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium. Lively wished the two-time WNBA All-Star luck in the competition and even thanked her for helping design a comfortable signature shoe.

I’ve seen Sabrina and giving her a hug, I wished her the best of luck. I’m waiting to see who is going to come out on top in that one. I’d definitely say that was the one that had me shocked because she was like, ‘Thank you for wearing my shoes.’ I’m like, ‘Of course! Thank you for making them that comfortable.’

Nike released the Sabrina 1 last year, making Ionescu the 12th WNBA player to have a signature shoe. The sneaker was an instant hit among WNBA and NBA players; Cade Cunningham, Jrue Holiday, Lively and Anfernee Simons are wearing them regularly.

Making a unisex shoe was very important for Ionescu and Nike. Players enjoy the different colorways available and how comfortable they are, as Lively said. Ionescu has served as a tremendous role model, which only further grew with the release of her shoe.

To see her shoes worn by everyone has been gratifying for Ionescu.

“I told Dereck: Thank you for wearing my shoes,” Ionescu said on Saturday, according to Rob Peterson of The Athletic. “To be able now to hear that he was excited about that interaction means a lot to me. It is an honor and humbling to know that.”

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