How Sabrina Ionescu went from ‘dark days’ of injuries to the brink of a WNBA Championship

NEW YORK – Sabrina Ionescu could barely walk during last season’s WNBA Finals. The New York Liberty star needed an injection in her sore hip to even take the floor in the opening games of the series against the Las Vegas Aces. She struggled to score, and as the Aces were on their way to capturing the championship in a one-point victory on the Liberty’s home court last October, Ionescu threw up in a side trash can.

The Liberty and Aces were heralded as the WNBA’s superteams last year because of their star power, including Ionescu. But Vegas made a statement and left a lasting scar for Ionescu.

“Losing,” she said, “motivates you.”

The Liberty had room for growth, and Ionescu realized that included it. Before traveling home to California last fall, she met with the New York coaching staff. They discussed at length how she could improve. Although she was good with the ball in her hand, they told her she was defended too easily off the ball. 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 she was healthy, she went to work with no physical limitations or, apparently, no ceiling on how hard she would push herself.

“It’s about always wanting to be better and not minding being complacent,” Ionescu said.

She was constantly in the gym. She worked on her handling and speed. She has added several floaters to her game. She focused on pulling up from different dribbling variations and utilizing her strength. She played five-on-five against current and former Pac-12 players, WNBA players and foreign pros. “Nothing compares to defense and live replays,” she said.

That wasn’t even enough. Ionescu created challenges to make difficult exercises even more difficult. Her coach recalled a catch-and-shoot sequence in which Ionescu was instructed to make 20 deep three-pointers, with the last five having to be consecutive. Ionescu added that they all had to be net. After making 13 in a row, she called out that a few had barely grazed the edge. “No, absolutely not. These don’t count, she said. She started the series again.

“It was a whole different story to be able to perform at full strength,” said Breen Weeks, her basketball skills coach the past two seasons.

Another time, Ionescu forced herself to hit five one-dribble, even-handed, even-footed floaters, but she demanded the last three be edged in off the glass without using her right hand as a guide. “If she doesn’t like the height of it, it doesn’t count,” Weeks said. ‘She’s that obsessive. She is so locked in and detailed. I call her a cold-blooded competitor.”

Ionescu said: “I know I can have a chance, but I want to keep challenging myself to strive for perfection. Sometimes it is with a lisp, sometimes it is with a challenging move.”

Sabrina Ionescu turned up the heat in Game 4 🔥

With 22 points and 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc, she lit up the court and energized Liberty for the WIN #WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/1zcSvivVlm

— WNBA (@WNBA) October 6, 2024

Tackling tough moments has been a theme in the early stages of Ionescu’s career, which has been marked by achievements but also by injuries and shortcomings. But her competitive obsessiveness in the offseason has taken her game to new heights. She continues to go downhill and is now New York’s leading ballhandler, averaging 18.2 points and 6.2 assists per game, and playing more minutes than ever.

It culminated in leading the Liberty back to the WNBA Finals and to the doorstep of a franchise peak. After losing last season, New York – one of the WNBA’s original teams – is in position to win its first championship when it takes on the Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 on Thursday.

“It was really rewarding to see my true self come out,” Ionescu said.

Those who know Ionescu best are not surprised that she lived in a gym all winter and spring. As a sophomore in high school, on her way to becoming one of the nation’s top recruits in Orinda, California, her coach gave her a key to the school’s gym. She practiced there so often late into the night that the principal instructed the cleaning staff at Miramonte High School to “just leave her alone and let her shoot,” her coach Kelly Sopak said.

When coach Kelly Graves recruited Ionescu to Oregon, he told her the university’s practice facility was open to players 24/7, but she quickly learned that wasn’t necessarily true. Ionescu was kicked out of the facility by a security guard on her first night on campus, the first of many times during her college career. “She was the only player I ever had that got kicked out of the practice facility,” Graves said.

That work ethic was crucial as Ionescu’s celebrated entry into the WNBA was quickly marred by injuries. Ionescu was the No. 1 pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft, but she suffered a severe ankle sprain in her third WNBA game and missed the remainder of her rookie season. Ankle pain persisted throughout the 2021 season, and it wasn’t until the 2022 campaign that she said she was fully healed. Still, thoughts of injury remained with her, and she later recalled the troubled periods of her “dark days.” Finishing an entire season healthy was a goal, just like winning a championship.

“She’s just competing with herself,” said Jonathan Kolb, Liberty’s general manager.

When the Liberty reconvened in the spring, assistant coach Olaf Lange said he quickly noticed that “the flashes were there in training camp.” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello noted Ionescu’s improved explosiveness.

In her fourteenth match, Ionescu had made more floaters than in all of 2023. Heading into the final, 37.2 percent of her shot attempts were runners of at the rim, compared to 26.3 percent last year, according to Synergy Sports. “When she’s that aggressive, it opens it up a little bit for everyone,” 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 engine of the franchise. Aces coach Becky Hammon said the 6-foot-2 guard “is what makes New York go with her pace, her ability to read, her ability to put defenses in different dilemmas.” Hammon called her the “head of the snake” of Liberty.

“I love her shooting, everything she brings to the game. Even just her finishing around the rim I think was a little bit better,” Hammon said. “It’s hard when you take really, really good players, and they get better.”

Sabrina Ionescu has played with more confidence and strength this season, helping lead the Liberty back to the WNBA Finals. (Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)

That’s why Las Vegas specifically tried to shut her down in Game 3 (Ionescu’s four points were her second-lowest of the season). Stop Ionescu, the Aces thought, and they could advance to the semi-finals again. Then Game 4 happened. Ionescu scored 12 points in the first quarter en route to a final team-high 22, closing the door on the Aces’ comeback attempt.

Stopping Ionescu consistently this season has proven to be a challenge, not only statistically, but because of the newfound confidence she’s playing with. “Sometimes early in her career I thought if she felt the audience, she just wanted to make a play and force the issue,” Lange said. “Lately she’s been letting it get to her.”

As Sopak watches Ionescu during New York’s postseason run, he has constant flashbacks. He recalled a high school game when she hit a late runner off the glass, which reminded him very much of a late-game shot off A’ja Wilson in New York’s Game 2 win over the Aces. With the Liberty leading by just one point with 11.6 seconds left, Ionescu approached the free throw line to seal the win. However, she missed the first free throw and from his home in California, Sopak said, “St. Mary’s-Stockton.”

The significance goes back to Ionescu’s freshman year of high school, when Ionescu was fouled and went to the line for a one-on-one against what Sopak said was a top-10 program. She missed the front and Miramonte lost by one point. The loss motivated Ionescu to avoid being in that position again.

“You can’t cover it up with Sabrina,” Sopak said. He said that after that match he told her, “If you want to be a great player, you have to be prepared for failure. If you are not willing to lose that game and accept the consequences, you will never win it.”

Ionescu does not shy away from important moments. That’s why Sopak had no doubt she would make the second free throw. She embraces trying to win competitions, not just avoiding them. “She doesn’t prove anything anymore,” Sopak said.

Over the past three weeks, Ionescu has dunked on Spike Lee, fallen into Carmelo Anthony’s lap and sung with Alicia Keys. She pumped her fists after making 3-pointers, waved her hands to cheer up the Barclays Center crowd and earned playoff victories at the free-throw line.

Amid all the fanfare and victories, Ionescu’s drive was clear. After tying New York’s franchise playoff record with 36 points to close the first round with the Atlanta Dream, she sat in a corner of the Liberty locker room and rarely breathed.

“Good job,” Ionescu told her teammates as she fastened her headband. “This game wasn’t perfect, but we played hard. We played hard for 40 minutes and it just fizzled out.”

Sabrina Ionescu: “Spike Lee gave me a high five… and it felt like New York had just been injected into my veins at that moment. I thought, ‘We’re going to win this.’” 😂pic.twitter.com/bnevwhIz0Z

— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) September 25, 2024

Healthy, focused and confident, Ionescu says she feels more comfortable being vocal and showing who she is. “People have been able to see a little bit more of my personality this year, who I am as a person,” she said. “Because I just gained more self-confidence.”

She listens to coaches’ ears about what she can do to score and how she wants to help her teammates succeed. During a recent practice, she urged the staff to continue repeating off-court plays instead of taking a water break. Every minute and every exercise is important.

Winning a ring is of utmost importance, she said. She said she has thought about what it would feel like to prevail, and what it would mean for her teammates, for a Liberty franchise that has lost its five previous trips to the finals, and for New York City, which has never lost once has won. basketball title since the 1970s.

“I’ve been thinking about a championship since we lost last year,” Ionescu said.

(Illustration: Daniel Goldfarb / The Athletics; Top photo of Sabrina Ionescu: Evan Yu/NBAE, Mitchell Leff/Getty)