Tag: Sabrina Ionescu

Sabrina Ionescu said that the Fever playing the Liberty was ‘their Super Bowl game’

Sabrina Ionescu said that the Fever beating the Liberty was that team’s “Super Bowl game.”

New York Liberty superstar Sabrina Ionescu said that the Indiana Fever playing her team was “their Super Bowl game,” but it didn’t come across nearly as patronizing as it reads when you watch the video.

After the Fever earned a stunning victory on Saturday over the Liberty, the team with the best record in the WNBA, Ionescu talked to reporters about why she felt Indiana had given them such a strong push to get the win.

To Ionescu, the Liberty lacked the urgency on Saturday afternoon needed to take on a rising squad like the Fever.

“Understanding, like… this is their Super Bowl game,” Ionescu said, per Winsidr reporter Myles Ehrlich. “We’ve beaten them three times this year already. We knew they were going to come into this game really hungry, and it’s tough to beat a team four times. Like, it’s just tough in our league, especially with how every team has just grown, and especially this young team.”

It’s fair to argue exactly what context Ionescu meant with that comment, as it comes across with an assumption that defeating a team like the Liberty could well be the high point of the Fever season.

Whether or not you find that to be insulting to Indiana or just an understandable filter for a league-leading team like the Liberty to have when playing a lesser opponent is fair game.

Perhaps this really was just an innocent slip of the tongue for how New York viewed Indiana’s intention going into Saturday’s contest. It just doesn’t come across as mean-spirited on the replay in any way.

Ionescu doesn’t seem to be anything but realistic with her team’s disappointing outcome and how the Fever might’ve had an extra chip on the shoulder to get the win after three losses to New York. She went on to praise Indiana’s growth throughout the season from their first meetings, which does show she has respect for the team and how far they’ve come.

This doesn’t seem to be nearly as big of a deal as it reads.

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Caitlin Clark and Sabrina Ionescu traded fantastic 3-pointers from deep in thrilling sequence

Caitlin Clark and Sabrina Ionescu trading awesome 3-pointers from deep is what it’s all about.

During Saturday’s Indiana Fever and New York Liberty game, two of the best shooters in basketball history traded amazing 3-pointers in what made for a heck of a moment in television.

Fever superstar rookie Caitlin Clark and Liberty superstar veteran Sabrina Ionescu both did what they do best during Saturday’s game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, shooting back-to-back deep 3-pointers for their respective teams.

It was really something to see Clark nail a shot from one of the logos and then see Ionescu nail a bucket from roughly the same distance right after.

Clark has taken the WNBA by storm, but Ionescu is probably the more dangerous shot right now, which is hard to even fathom. Seeing these two trade baskets is why we tune into a marquee matchup like this.

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Sabrina Ionescu named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week

The WNBA awarded Sabrina Ionescu the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week after a run of stellar performances.

Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty have been on a tear to start the WNBA summer. Through 18 games, the Liberty are 15-3 — the best record in the league. Ionescu has been a big part of New York’s recent success, which earned the most recent Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors.

Last week, the Liberty won three out of their four games, and during that stretch, Ionescu averaged 25 points, 9.3 assists, and 4.7 rebounds, per game, while shooting 47.3 percent from the field. Her points and assists numbers topped the league during that time.

The Liberty are the top team in the WNBA, but in their most recent game, they suffered a key loss. On Tuesday, New York took on the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA Comminsor’s Cup Championship. The Liberty lost, 94-89, making Minnesota the In-Season Tournament Champs, which awards them $500,000 in prize money.

Ionescu performed well in Tuesday’s game scoring 23 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing four assists. At halftime, the Liberty led, but after scoring just 10 points in the third quarter, the Lynx had built a lead New York couldn’t overcome.

The WNBA season just nearing its halfway point, so while the Liberty are in a great position after 18 games, they have a long way to go before the playoffs. On the horizon for New York, is a Sunday home game against the Atlanta Dream. Then, they’ll have a rematch against Minnesota and a matchup against Catlin Clark’s Indiana Fever.

Sabrina Ionescu hit an absolutely stellar 3-pointer from the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup logo during the championship game

Sabrina Ionescu is out of this world.

During Tuesday night’s WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championshio game, New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu reinforced why she’s one of the best shooters in the world.

Ionescu effortlessly nailed a deep 3-pointer from the Commissioner’s Cup logo, sending the Liberty fans in attendance into a frenzy for how fantastic the basket looked in person. It looked impressive enough on video.

The elite Liberty guard is a big reason why New York is thriving this season, and phenomenal shots like this reinforce why Ionescu is so great at what she does.

The Liberty have a real chance to win the championship this fall, and more buckets like this from Ionescu will help them get there.

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Former Duck Sabrina Ionescu makes WNBA history once again

Sabrina Ionescu is at it again as she breaks the WNBA record for 25-plus points and 10-plus assists for the fifth time.

Oregon fans got used to watching Sabrina Ionescu break record after record and now she’s doing it on the pro level in the WNBA.

In the 96-75 win over Atlanta, Ionescu tallied 26 points and 11 assists, making it the fifth time in her still-young career to score 25-plus points and dish out 10-plus assists in a game, which is a WNBA record.

No doubt Ionescu is just getting started and by the time she’s done in a decade or more, this might be a record that will be impossible to break.

Ionescu is also enjoying her best season as the Liberty are 15-3, the best start in franchise history. She is averaging 19.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game. Ionescu is a favorite to win her first MVP award.

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Jonquel Jones hilariously tried baiting Sabrina Ionescu into a 3-point contest at the All-Star Game

Sabrina vs. Jonquel. We would like to see this. Let’s do it.

Sabrina Ionescu‘s teammate, Jonquel Jones, says she could beat Sabrina in a 3-point contest, and this is our kind of carrying-on.

Jonquel Jones has been on an absolute tear this season. As we pointed out in our WNBA power rankings, Jones has upped her 3-point shooting, and it’s giving teams absolute fits. (Jonquel was the 2021 WNBA MVP, so she can HOOP. But shooting over 40 percent from 3-point land for a frontcourt player is just simply WILD stuff.)

So, during recent media availability, Jones did not hesitate to say that she could beat Sabrina Ionescu — a lethal 3-point specialist — if she were to be invited to the All-Star game. This is the hilarious answer she gave:

“Look, I always say when they invite me, I’ll do it. So, if they invite me, I’ll beat her too.”

Sabrina then cracked a smile before answering, “Who said I was doing it?” This is tremendous stuff. We hope this happens. We are totally here for it.

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Nike drops a new promo for the new Sabrina 2s

Nike and Sabrina Ionescu released a video promoting the Sabrina 2, the 2nd generation of Ionescu signature shoe, which debuts next week.

Last summer, Nike and Sabrina Ionescu, a former point guard for the Oregon Ducks and one of the stars of the New York Liberty, launched Ionescu’s first signature shoe: the Sabrina 1s. The shoes were an instant hit, with many women’s and men’s players donning them at the professional and collegiate levels.

The 1s gained so much traction in part because of their minimalist design. While the shoes have many color options, none of the designs feel oversaturated, which perhaps is why the shoes appealed to fans and players alike.

Now, nine months after the Sabrina 1s first dropped, Nike is preparing to release the Sabrina 2s. Compared to the design of the 1s, the 2s sport bolder and brighter color combinations, and some of the designs feature chrome elements.

Although the sneakers don’t debut until next Tuesday, Ionescu has already broken them out for a few games this season. Since the season began last month, Ionescu and the Liberty are 12-3, and they’ve won eight of their last nine.

Ionescu is one of the few active players in the WNBA with a signature shoe, the others being Breanna Stewart — Ionescu’s New York teammate — and A’ja Wilson — whose shoe isn’t out yet but is planned to come out in 2025. Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark also has signed a deal with Nike that includes a signature shoe, but details and plans for that release haven’t been announced.

Where Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty stand after a month of WNBA action

An update on Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty after a month of the WNBA season.

The WNBA season has been chugging along for over a month now, and the attention the league has garnered this year is unprecedented. But regardless of the spike in popularity, it’s time we look in depth at the status of the former Oregon Ducks in the W.

Today, we’re looking at Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty, but I’ll look at the other Ducks in the league over the next few days.

Through 14 games of the season, the New York Liberty look splendid, with a record of 12-2 and an eight-game running win streak. The only team in the league with a better record than New York is the Connecticut Sun at 12-1.

Leading the Liberty, of course, are point guard Sabrina Ionescu and forward Breanna Stewart. The duo is combining for 36.2 points per game this season, with Ionescu leading the team in assists and Stewart leading the team in rebounds.

Ionescu is averaging 17.6 points so far this season, but she is shooting a far lower three-point clip (34.7%) than she did in 2023 (44.8%). Ionescu is also averaging fewer rebounds per game this season than any season of her career.

There is plenty of time left this year for those numbers to turn around, and clearly, those statistical downticks haven’t hurt the Liberty. Ionescu’s three-point percentage in 2023 is an outlier in her career, so 34.7% from deep isn’t concerning.

New York’s most recent victory came on Saturday against the Las Vegas Aces, the WNBA’s reigning champions who beat the Liberty in the Finals last season. The Aces have started slow this season, but New York’s win this weekend is still important.

The Liberty have three games this week. On Tuesday, they’ll tip off against the Phoenix Mercury in Arizona, and then they’ll head back home to host the LA Sparks for games on Thursday and Saturday.

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Sabrina Ionescu and Lebron James share a hug after the Liberty’s win over Las Vegas

After the New York Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday, Lebron James shared congratulations with Sabrina Ionescu.

Moments after Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty closed out their 90-82 victory over the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday, Ionescu and Lebron James — who attended the game — shared a hug on the court. Before beginning her WNBA career with the New York Liberty in 2020, Ionescu played four years for the Oregon Ducks.

Ionescu didn’t have her most efficient day shooting the basketball on Saturday, but she still scored 15 points for New York and excelled in other areas, finishing with 12 assists.

The Liberty are off to a hot start this season with a record of 12-2 — the second-best record in the league — putting them a half-game back of the first-place Connecticut Sun. Ionescu has been a large part of New York’s success, averaging 17.6 points, 5.9 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game, on 42.6% shooting this season.

While the WNBA season is in full swing, James’s offseason began in April after the Los Angeles Lakers suffered a series loss to the Denver Nuggets in five games. After the series, the Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham was fired, and LA is still searching for a replacement.

The Liberty play their next game on Tuesday against the Phoenix Mercury on the road. The Mercury are 7-7 on the season, but they’ve won three of their last four times out. After that, the Liberty will host the LA Sparks for back-to-back games in New York, where Ionescu will face off against Cameron Brink, a Sparks rookie native to Portland.

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Sabrina Ionescu drained a logo 3-pointer against the Aces in front of LeBron James and Damian Lillard

Sabrina from deeeeeeep

Few players can appreciate a deep 3-pointer the way Damian Lillard and LeBron James can. So it was a good thing the two were among a handful of NBA stars who pulled up to the Las Vegas Aces game against the New York Liberty on Saturday in the desert.

With the first quarter coming to a close, Sabrina Ionescu put on a show in the nationally televised rematch of last year’s WNBA Finals, perfectly using a screen from Kennedy Burke to launch a three from the logo.

This looked so smooth.  There’s just really not much you can do as a defender.

Bam Adebayo and LeBron’s wife, Savannah, were also sitting courtside for the highly anticipated matchup. So, too, was super agent Rich Paul.

Ionescu finished with 15 points and 12 assists as the Liberty topped the Aces, 90-82, in the first of their three regular season matchups.

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