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NEW YORK — Sabrina Ionescu could barely walk in last season’s WNBA Finals. The New York Liberty star had to get an injection in his sore hip to take the floor during the opening game of the series against the Las Vegas Aces. She struggled to score, and last October on the Liberty’s home court, Ionescu threw herself into a sideline trash can on the way to the Aces’ one-point victory for the championship.
The Liberty and Aces were dubbed the WNBA’s superteams last year because of their star power, including Ionescu. But Vegas made a statement that left a lasting scar on Ionescu.
“Losing motivates you,” she said.
There was room for growth at Liberty, and Ionescu recognized that that included her. Before returning to California last fall, she met with the coaching staff in New York. They discussed in detail how she could improve. While she is good with the ball in her hands, they say she defends off the ball too easily. They emphasized identifying and exploiting pick-and-roll situations. They wanted Ionescu to become a better cutter, play at different speeds, and attack the basket more.
Once healthy, she was able to work without physical limitations and without limits to how hard she could work.
“It’s about always wanting to get better and not allowing yourself to become complacent,” Ionescu said.
She was constantly in the gym. She worked on her handling and agility. She added a variety of floaters to her game. She focused on pulling off different dribble variations and utilizing her strength. She played 5-on-5 against current and former Pac-12 players, WNBA players and international pros. “Nothing compares to defense and live reps,” she said.
That wasn’t enough. Ionescu designed challenges to make difficult training even more difficult. Her trainer remembered a catch-and-shoot sequence that required Ionescu to make 20 deep 3-pointers, the last five of which had to be consecutive. Ionescu added that each and every one must be pure. After making 13 in a row, she said several barely missed the rim. “No, absolutely not. These are not important,” she said. She started the sequence again.
“Being able to make a completely explosive play was a whole different story,” said Breen Weeks, who has been her basketball skills trainer the past two offseasons.
Another time, Ionescu hit five one-handed, same-foot, one-dribble floaters, but instead of using his right hand as a guide, he was required to push the final three off the glass. “If she doesn’t like that height, it doesn’t matter,” Weeks said. “That’s how obsessive he is. That’s how pensive and detailed she is. I call her a cold-blooded competitor.”
Ionescu said: “I know I can succeed, but I want to continue to challenge myself in the pursuit of perfection. Sometimes there are quick movements, and sometimes there are challenging movements.”
Sabrina Ionescu heats up Game 4 🔥
With 22 points and 5-of-5 from beyond the arc, she lit up the court and energized Liberty for a WIN. #WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/1zcSvivVlm
– WNBA (@WNBA) October 6, 2024
Taking difficult moments head on has been a theme through the early stages of Ionescu’s career, which has been marked by achievements but also by injuries and shortcomings. But this offseason, her competitive obsession took her performance to a new level. She’s gotten more downhill and is now New York’s primary ballhandler, averaging 18.2 points and 6.2 assists per game and playing more minutes than ever before.
It culminated in guiding the Liberty back to the doorstep of the WNBA Finals and the franchise’s pinnacle. Following last season’s loss, New York, one of the WNBA’s oldest teams, is in position to get its first win against the Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 on Thursday.
“It was really rewarding to see my true self emerge,” Ionescu said.
Those who know Ionescu best are not surprised to learn that she has been in the gym all winter and spring. As a sophomore in high school at Orinda, California, where she was on her way to becoming one of the nation’s top recruits, her coach gave her a key to the school’s gym. She practiced there so often late into the night that the school’s principal told Miramonte High School maintenance staff to “just leave her alone and let her film,” said her coach, Kelly Sopak.
When coach Kelly Graves recruited Ionescu to Oregon, he told her that the university’s practice facility would be open 24/7 for players, but she quickly learned that wasn’t necessarily true. Ionescu was kicked out of the facility by security on his first night on campus. This was the first time this had happened to her during her college career. “She was the only player I ever got kicked out of the practice facility,” Graves said.
That work ethic was crucial as Ionescu’s storied WNBA run was quickly derailed by injuries. Ionescu was the No. 1 pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft, but suffered a serious ankle sprain in her third WNBA game and missed the remainder of her rookie season. The ankle pain persisted throughout the 2021 season, and it wasn’t until the 2022 season that she said it was fully healed. Nonetheless, thoughts of the injury remained in her mind, and she later recalled them as haunting her “dark days.” Finishing the entire season healthy was the goal, as was winning.
“She’s just competing against herself,” Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb said.
When the Liberty got back together in the spring, assistant coach Olaf Lange said he quickly noticed “there were flashes in training camp.” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello noted Ionescu’s improved explosiveness.
Through Game 14, Ionescu has had more floaters than in all of 2023. Heading into the finals, 37.2% of her shot attempts were on runners or at the rim, up from 26.3% last year, according to Synergy Sports. “When she’s that aggressive, it opens things up for everyone else,” Liberty teammate Breanna Stewart said.
Stewart and Jonquel Jones are the only players in New York with MVP awards on their resumes, but Ionescu is arguably the driving force of the franchise. Ace coach Becky Hammon said the 5-foot-11 guard “makes (New York) tick with her speed, her ability to make reads and her ability to put defenses in a variety of dilemmas.” Hammon called her Liberty’s “snake head.”
“I like her shooting and everything she brings to the game. I think she’s gotten a little better just finishing around the rim,” Hammon said. “It’s hard to get really, really good players and then they get better.”
Sabrina Ionescu has played with more confidence and power this season, helping the Liberty return to the WNBA Finals. (Barry Gossage / NBAE, courtesy of Getty Images)
That’s why Vegas specifically tried to shut her out in Game 3 (Ionescu’s four points were her second-lowest of the season). The Aces believed that stopping Ionescu would get them back into the semifinals. Then Game 4 happened. Ionescu capped the Aces’ comeback attempt with 12 points in the first quarter, a team-high 22 points.
Consistently stopping Ionescu this season has been difficult, not only statistically, but also because of the newfound confidence with which she plays. “Sometimes, early in her career, when she felt the crowd, I thought she just wanted to make a play and force the issue,” Lange said. “As of late, she allows it to get to her.”
As Sopak watched Ionescu throughout New York’s postseason run, he constantly reminisced. He recalled a time she hit a late runner on the glass in a middle school contest, which reminded him of a late-game shot against A’ja Wilson in New York’s Game 2 win over the Aces. With 11.6 seconds left and Liberty ahead by just one point, Ionescu got to the free throw line to seal the win. But she missed the first free throw, Sopak said from his home in California. Mary’s-Stockton.”
The implications go back to Ionescu’s freshman year of high school, when Ionescu fouled out and faced what Sopak said was a top-10 program in a one-on-one game. She missed the front end and Miramonte lost by one point. This loss made Ionescu avoid being in that position again.
“You can’t sugarcoat Sabrina,” Sopak said. He said he told her after the game: “To be a great player, you have to be prepared to fail. If you lose that game and are not willing to suffer the consequences, you will never win.”
Ionescu doesn’t shy away from big moments. That’s why there was no doubt that Sopak would attempt a second free throw. She embraces working to win games rather than just avoiding losing them. “She doesn’t prove anything anymore,” Sopak said.
In the past three weeks, Ionescu has touched Spike Lee, sat on Carmelo Anthony’s lap, and sung with Alicia Keys. She pumped her fist and waved to cheer up the Barclays Center crowd after sinking a 3-pointer and nailing the ice playoff victory from the free throw line.
Amid all the fanfare and victory, Ionescu’s drive was evident. She sat in the corner of the Liberty locker room and took a rare breather after tying New York’s franchise playoff record by ending the first-round series with the Atlanta Dream with 36 points.
“Good job,” Ionescu told her teammates as she adjusted her headband. “This game wasn’t perfect, but we played hard. “I played hard for 40 minutes, but I just shrunk.”
Sabrina Ionescu: “Spike Lee gave me a high five… At that moment, it felt like New York was injected into my veins. I thought, ‘We’re winning.’” 😂pic.twitter.com/bnevwhIz0Z
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) September 25, 2024
Healthy, focused and confident, Ionescu said she feels more comfortable speaking up and showing who she is. “People have been able to see a little more of my personality this year – who I am as a person,” she said. “Because I feel more confident in myself.”
She listens to her coaches about what she can do to score points and how she wants to help her teammates succeed. At a recent practice, she urged staff to continue playing outside instead of in the water. Every moment and every training counts.
Getting the ring was the most important thing, she said. She said she was thinking about what it would feel like to win and what it would mean to her teammates, to a Liberty franchise that has lost in five Finals appearances, and to New York City, which has never won a championship. Basketball titles since the 1970s.
“I’ve been thinking about winning the championship since we lost last year,” Ionescu said.
(Image: Daniel Goldfarb / athletic; Top photo by Sabrina Ionescu: Evan Yu / NBAE, Mitchell Leff / Getty)
