Tag: Sabrina Ionescu

Watch: Sabrina Ionescu shares special moment with news that she made Team USA

Sabrina Ionescu will play for Team USA in the 2024 Olympic Games this summer and will wear No. 6.

Sabrina Ionescu was named to the 12-player Olympic women’s basketball roster this past weekend and it was revealed that she will wear No. 6 when the team begins play in France next month.

This will be Ionescu’s first time playing in the Olympics, but likely not her last.

With all of the controversy of Caitlin Clark not making the team, what has been missed is that this might be the best roster ever put forth by Team USA and they will be overwhelming favorites to win the gold medal.

Ionescu is having the best year of her professional career in the WNBA as she is averaging 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists a game for the New York Liberty.

Fellow former Duck Satou Sabally will also be in the Olympic Games as she will play for the German National Team.

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Sabrina Ionescu reacts to surprise visit from The Duck at Liberty game

The Oregon Duck made a trip to The Big Apple to watch Sabrina Ionescu and the Liberty defeat Washington 93-88 on Sunday.

He may be the only Duck that needs an airplane to fly, but no one can say The Oregon Duck doesn’t get around.

This past weekend, The Duck was on hand to visit Sabrina Ionescu in The Big Apple to watch his favorite WNBA player and the New York Liberty play in person.

Ionescu was surprised her pal made the cross-country trip, but she is happy he did.

“The last time I saw him was at my wedding,” Ionescu said. “I had to look four times to make sure it was him. He’s the best of the best.”

It was a successful trip for The Duck as he saw Ionescu score 19 points, dish out eight assists, and grab six rebounds in the 93-88 win over the Washington Mystics.

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Sabrina Ionescu privately coaching Kobe Bryant’s daughter is so heartwarming

Somebody pass the tissues.

The Sabrina Ionescu-Kobe Bryant connection lives on. Kobe’s wife, Vaneessa Bryant, recently shared photos and video of their daughter, Bianka, hooping with Sabrina, and it’s the most precious thing.

Per a Vanessa Bryant Instagram post, Vanessa, Bianka and Capri traveled to New York and did all kinds of things. A very cute video shows her girls posing for pictures and checking out some great dolls, and there was even pizza involved.

However, the best part of the whole clip has to be Bianka getting up some shots with New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu and learning some sweet new moves. HOW PRECIOUS IS THIS?!

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Sabrina Ionescu talks Caitlin Clark, and transition from college to the WNBA

Former Oregon Duck women’s basketball superstar Sabrina Ionescu offers some advice for Caitlin Clark and every WNBA rookie.

When former Oregon women’s basketball superstar Sabrina Ionescu went into the WNBA, the pandemic was in full swing, and the fanfare that she deserved just wasn’t there.

Ironically, Caitlin Clark is enjoying that fanfare that should have come Ionescu’s way, but that doesn’t mean Clark can’t go to Ionescu for advice when it comes to transitioning from college superstar to just another player in the WNBA.

According to the best Duck women’s basketball player of all time, every rookie is going to face some tough times early on.

“Every rookie is going to come in and have adversity from the beginning. It’s a lot different than college, so my advice to any rookie is to continue to grind and stick with it,” she said in a postgame interview. “Figure out ways to get better. That’s a big part of elevating your game and understand what you did in college was enough and you deserve to have that confidence coming into the league, but knowing there’s so much room for improvement.”

It’s difficult to fathom what Ionescu could possibly improve upon in her fourth season with the New York Liberty. But ever the professional and team player, Ionescu will continue to do whatever it takes to bring the Big Apple a WNBA title.

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Sabrina Ionescu shrugging at Caitlin Clark after faking her out on a deep 3-pointer was so cold

Sabrina Ionescu gave rookie Caitlin Clark a quick lesson on Saturday in New York

The start of Caitlin Clark’s pro career has pretty much been what you’d expect for a highly-touted rookie trying to help turnaround a young and struggling Indiana Fever franchise.

There’s been some highlights, some lowlights and some unsurprising growing pains. But if anyone expected the WNBA’s best to give Clark time to acclimate before going after her on the court, that was a huge mistake.

Given all the hype around Clark this year, it’s not a shock that more established players would want to put her skills to the test right away, and on Saturday at Barclays Center, Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu gave Clark a moment to remember in her first game in New York City.

Ionescu completely fooled Clark in the first half before knocking down a deep 3-pointer, then hit the rookie with a shrug as she got back on defense.

It was as cold a move as you’d expect from someone who used to train with Kobe Bryant, but all this early attention will likely just force Clark to adapt even quicker.

The former Iowa star was already looking a bit more comfortable and hitting some deep threes of her own on Saturday.


Still, Round 1 goes to Ionescu.

Caitlin Clark recalls when Sabrina Ionescu tried to recruit her to Oregon

Caitlin Clark following Sabrina Ionescu at Oregon? Oh, what could have been.

If you look at the current sporting landscape, there are few bigger names right now than Caitlin Clark and Sabrina Ionescu.

While the two are squaring off right now for the first time in their WNBA careers, it’s fun to imagine a world where one followed the other playing for the Oregon Ducks at the college level instead of going their separate ways.

While Ionescu lit the college basketball world on fire at the end of last decade with her barrage of triple-doubles and record-breaking performances in Eugene, it wasn’t until a few years later that Clark did a similar thing, breaking the all-time scoring record in college basketball at Iowa.

Before the meeting between Clark’s Indiana Fever and Ionescu’s New York Liberty on Thursday, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft recalls when the No. 1 pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft recruited her.

“She was definitely somebody I enjoyed watching,” Clark said of Ionescu. “Obviously, Oregon recruited me so when I went out there Sabrina was around the whole time and you got to see how genuine of a person she was, on top of being the best basketball player in America.”

While Clark ended up going to the Hawkeyes instead and carving out a historic career, it was the path Ionescu created in Eugene that inspired her.

“The way she took Oregon to become a powerhouse, that’s something that I loved and something that I wanted to do at Iowa,” Clark said. “She continued to support me throughout my college career, was always reaching out and congratulating me and being really supportive.”

Now the two face each other at the professional level, where they could absolutely develop a rivalry of sorts for years to come. Despite that, Clark will always have something nice to say about Ionescu, even if it’s just about the gear she brings to the game.

“And her shoe is pretty comfortable.”

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Sabrina Ionescu gifts Iowa signature sneakers ahead of Final Four date vs. UConn

Surprise, surprise! Former Oregon and current WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu surprised Iowa with gifts and a message ahead of the Final Four.

When a team makes its way to the Final Four, there’s a good chance the stars are out.

That’s the case for Iowa women’s basketball as they gear up for Friday night’s showdown versus UConn with a trip to the national championship game on the line.

Iowa was surprised by former Oregon star guard and current New York Liberty point guard Sabrina Ionescu. The two-time WNBA All-Star came bearing gifts for the Hawkeyes.

Ionescu delivered her brand new Sabrina 1 “Exclama!on” sneakers to the Hawkeyes. She also had a heartfelt message for Iowa.

“Enjoy what you guys have done so far, enjoy where you’re at. It’s a lot bigger than yourselves and I think you guys are seeing that from what you guys have been able to do in the last couple years here, but how it’s just changed sport and how it’s changed the lives of so many people in your guys’ area but also just around the world.

“Enjoy playing for one another. You’re never going to get another room like this. There’s never going to be another team that you guys are going to be on that feels like this. Be proud of how you guys have represented yourself, represented your team and what you’ve done for everyone, not just Iowa basketball,” Ionescu said.

As a Nike school, Iowa also received Final Four gear, including Nike Tech sweatpants, sweatshirts, team bags and signature “Cleveland” long-sleeved shirts.

The Hawkeyes face UConn on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN with a berth in the national championship game on the line against the winner of North Carolina State and South Carolina in the other national semifinal.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions.

Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF

New player poll from The Athletic paints Oregon’s Kelly Graves in a poor light

A mass exodus and player polls paint Oregon’s Kelly Graves in a poor light.

For the second year in a row, Oregon Ducks women’s basketball has been sent into a tailspin at the start of the offseason.

On Wednesday morning, three Ducks entered the transfer portal. Two of them were the team’s best players, leaving the roster full of unknowns.

The next step for Oregon will be trying to replace those players with transfer additions of its own, but that may be tough for head coach Kelly Graves. In a straw poll by the Athletic, players around the country were asked which coach they’d like to play for least, and Graves ranked second.

The champion of that list was, unsurprisingly, LSU’s Kim Mulkey, who is infamous for her harsh words and attitude toward players. Mulkey received 32 of the 48 votes, while Graves received seven votes. That seems small in comparison, but second place is second place, especially on a list like that.

Not long ago, Graves’ Ducks were at the top of the basketball world, due in part to his aptitude for talent acquisition. In 2020, Oregon was in the fast lane on the road to a national championship before the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. On that team were several WNBA-caliber talents, none greater than Sabrina Ionescu, who was one of the best women’s college basketball players ever, and has gone on to greater heights as the point guard for the New York Liberty.

Three years later the narrative has flipped. Throughout the past season, there was a growing sentiment among fans that Graves’ chair should be heating up. That sentiment was fueled by the Ducks’ 14-game losing streak to end the season — the longest losing streak in program history.

The Ducks need a roster overhaul, but it will be hard to bring in elite players with the program led by one of the coaches players would like to play for the least. And if Graves can’t figure out how to bring in a talented team, he will be on the hot seat.

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Kenny Smith issued a feckless non-apology for Sabrina Ionescu comments at All-Star weekend

Kenny Smith says he was advocating for Sabrina Ionescu, but nobody is entitled to believe him.

Kenny Smith’s All-Star Weekend comments on Sabrina Ionescu have the internet buzzing, but he’s not backing down. He recently told Stephen A. Smith that he was advocating for Sabrina when he suggested she should have shot from the WNBA line against Stephen Curry.

The first-ever NBA vs. WNBA 3-point contest was nearly soured by comments made by TNT analyst Kenny Smith. Kenny surmised that Sabrina Ionescu should have shot from the WNBA line against Stephen Curry to make things “fair.” He also compared the contest to why gender-specific tees are used in golf.

Basketball fans immediately roasted him, but Kenny argued that he was advocating for Sabrina during a recent appearance on the Stephen A. Smith show. (See the clip below and the 23:03 mark of the YouTube video.)

Here’s what Smith said:

“I think it’s much ado about nothing, Stephen. Most people who know basketball understood what I was talking about. Actually, I was advocating for her more than anything else.“

Kenny tells Stephen A. that basketball is muscle memory and that if you are not shooting from where you practice, it will mess with your accuracy. He admits that both players could have made other adjustments but re-emphasizes that muscle memory is at one line.

What stands out most about his new comments is that Kenny quips, “Most people just don’t check the tape. They want just to check the bait.” (24:56 mark of the above video)  The irony is that if he had bothered to check the tape on Sabrina, he would have known she didn’t shoot from the WNBA line. When she tweeted that she would shoot from the NBA line, it was because that was already her normal range.

For example, during an August 2023 game, Sabrina made six three-pointers well beyond the WNBA line. At the 1:14 mark of the video below, the broadcast can be heard saying, “Look at how deep she is, and that is normal range for her.” She likely couldn’t shoot as many 3-pointers as Steph Curry during the contest because she isn’t shooting that kind of high volume regularly (over 15 consecutive shots), not because she isn’t capable.

Sabrina earned the same amount of points during her shootout with Steph as Damian Lillard, Karl-Anthony Towns, Trae Young, and Tyrese Haliburton did from the same NBA line. How quickly people forget that Sabrina owns the 3-point contest record for both the WNBA and NBA. Steph Curry does not hold that record despite being the greatest shooter ever. So, Sabrina almost taking down the metaphorical Thanos of basketball on her first try should speak volumes about her abilities.

Sabrina Ionescu gave Bille Jean King vibes in NBA 3-Point Contest

The 3-Point Contest was reminiscent of the Battle of the Sexes between tennis legends Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973.

During the 2023 WNBA All-Star Weekend, Sabrina Ionescu won the 3-point contest and shattered the record held by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry by amassing 37 points. This set the stage for a head-to-head contest between Ionescu and Curry at the 2024 NBA All-Star Game.

This contest proved one of the highlights of All-Star Weekend. While Ionescu finished with 26 points, Curry won with a solid 29 points. However, the competition was about much more than whomever won. It was about appreciating talented players, despite their gender or league.

Shooters can shoot. Period.

It was reminiscent of the Battle of the Sexes between tennis legends Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973. More than 30,000 people were in attendance at the match, which King won in straight sets — 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 — and took home the $100,000 prize money. But, much like the 3-point contest, the real prize was what it meant for women’s sports and the fight for equality, equity and inclusion.

“I don’t know what’s going to come out of it, but me and Sabrina talked about how cool of an opportunity it is to do something that’s never been done before in our game,” Curry said. “And for her to have a presence on this stage is going to do a lot to inspire the next generation of young boys and girls that want to compete and see themselves in either one of us. Wherever it goes from there, we know we can kind of plant our flag as doing something really special.”

The viewership for NBA All-Star Saturday night was the highest in four years, with an audience peak at 5.4 million viewers from 10-10:15 p.m. ET during the 3-point contest.

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