Sabrina Elaine Ionescu ( ; born December 6, 1997) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Confer ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA). She is widely considered one of the greatest three-point shooters in the WNBA. She is a three-time WNBA All-Star and

All-WNBA Team The All-WNBA Team is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every season. The voting is conducted by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United State ...

selection, and an Olympic gold medalist with the United States national team. Ionescu played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

, where she twice won the John R. Wooden Award and

Wade Trophy The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State ...

, earning consensus national player of the year honors as a senior. She set the Division I career triple-doubles record and is the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

all-time leader in assists. Regarded as one of the greatest collegiate players in history, Ionescu was selected first overall by the New York Liberty in the 2020 WNBA draft. In

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, she broke the WNBA single-season record in three-pointers and the WNBA Three-Point Contest record. She led the Liberty to their first league championship in the following year.

Early life

Ionescu was born in

Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland, California, Oakland. Walnut Creek has a total population of 70,127 per t ...

, to

Romanian-American Romanian Americans () are Americans who have Romanian ancestry. According to the 2023 American Community Survey, 425,738 Americans indicated Romanian as their first or second ancestry, however other sources provide higher estimates, which a ...

parents. Her father, Dan Ionescu, escaped

communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...

around the time of the 1989 revolution, seeking political asylum in the United States. He hoped that his then-wife, Liliana Blaj, and their son Andrei could join them in a few months, but they were unable to move to the US until 1995. By that time, Dan owned a limousine service in

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

, where he had chosen to settle because he had several extended family members in that area. Sabrina was around three years old when she first picked up a basketball. She has a twin brother Edward ("Eddy"), who was born 18 minutes after her. Eddy played basketball at the

City College of San Francisco City College of San Francisco (CCSF or City College) is a public community college in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded as a junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local role, enrolling as many as 1 in 35 San Franc ...

before transferring to Oregon; he was solely a student in the 2018–19 school year before walking on to the Ducks men's basketball team in 2019–20. Sabrina Ionescu grew up in a Romanian-speaking household. In a 2019 interview with Ava Wallace of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', Ionescu admitted to being a "natural scorer", but said that most of the rest of her skill set came from playing alongside both boys and older girls in her childhood: Ionescu attended a middle school that did not have enough players to field a girls' team, and her school refused to allow her to play on the boys' team. She recalled, "My middle school said I should be playing with

dolls A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...

. Seriously, word-for-word." She responded by recruiting enough girls to enable her school to have a team.

High school

Ionescu was a four-year varsity basketball letter winner at

Miramonte High School Miramonte High School is a four-year public high school located in Orinda, California, United States. It is part of the Acalanes Union High School District. The school has a college-preparatory program, with 23 Advanced Placement courses offered ...

Orinda, California Orinda is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census is estimated at 19,514 residents. History Orinda is located within four Mexican land grants: Rancho La ...

under head coach Kelly Sopak. As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

in 2012–13, she started 14 of 29 games and averaged 13.8 points, 3.9 assists and 3.9 steals per game to help her team to a 27–3 record and a Northern California Section Division II runner-up finish. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

in 2013–14, Ionescu helped her team to a 30–2 record. During her junior year, Ionescu averaged 18.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 4.7 steals per game, and helped Miramonte High School to a 30–2 record with an appearance in the CIF open division semifinals. In her senior year, she led Miramonte to the CIF open division title game after averaging 25.3 points, 8.8 assists, 7.6 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. She posted a triple-double in the championship game loss to Chaminade with 24 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Ionescu also made a first half buzzer-beating shot from half court. She received national honors including the USA Today Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Max Preps Player of the Year, Cal-Hi Sports Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year and Gatorade State Player of the Year. Ionescu was named a McDonald's All-America and Jordan Brand All-American selection. She was named the McDonald's All-America game MVP after scoring a record 25 points, including seven three-pointers, with 10 rebounds. Ionescu left Miramonte with a career win–loss record of 119–9 and a school-record 2,606 points scored. She is also the all-time leader in assists (769), steals (549) and triple-doubles (21). In addition to the career record, Ionescu also held the Miramonte top three single-season scoring records with 598 (2013–14), 760 (2014–15) and 834 (2015–16). Ionescu also held the single-game scoring record of 43 points vs. Pinewood High School while being double- and triple-teamed and the single-game record in assists with 19 at Dublin High School. Ionescu was the No. 1 ranked point guard and No. 4 overall player in the recruiting class of 2016. According to Ava Wallace of ''The'' ''Washington Post'', Ionescu chose

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

"because she wanted to be ''the'' all-American at Oregon, not just ''an'' all-American somewhere else." At the time, she was the highest-ranked recruit ever to commit to Oregon basketball. However, she had difficulty making a college choice, not signing a

National Letter of Intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

with any school during either the early signing period in November 2015 or the late period in April 2016. Ionescu finally committed to Oregon just before the school's 2016 summer term began, driving with her father for 8 hours from their

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

home to Eugene, making an unannounced visit to Matthew Knight Arena and telling head coach Kelly Graves that she would join the team.

College career

Freshman season

On November 13, 2016, Ionescu made her collegiate debut for Oregon, recording 11 points in an 84–67 win over Lamar. Ionescu recorded four triple-doubles, one shy of the Pac-12 record and two less than the NCAA record. She averaged 14.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game, ranking second on the team in scoring and rebounding, and first in assists. She also posted seven double-doubles, ranked third in the Pac-12 and 29th in the NCAA with 183 assists on the year. Her 1.93-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio was second-best in the Pac-12. She was named Pac-12 Freshman of Week four times and was named USBWA National Player of the Week. At the end of the regular season, she was named Pac-12 Freshmen of the Year and unanimous First Team All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Freshman Team selection. Additionally, she was awarded the USBWA National Freshman of the Year presented by the United States Basketball Writers Association.

Sophomore season

Ionescu rose to national prominence in her sophomore year, leading the Ducks to their third regular-season league crown all-time and first-ever No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament. She led the Pac-12 in scoring (19.2) and assists, dishing out 7.8 assists per game which was fifth-most in the country. She had 16 double-doubles this season and 14 20-point games. She recorded 10-assist games 13 times this season, handing out a league season-high 14 twice. On February 26, 2018, Ionescu was named ESPNW's college basketball player of the week. Following her second season, she was named the

Pac-12 Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year The Pac-12 Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year is a dormant basketball award given to the Pac-12 Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1986–87 season, the first year in which the league then kn ...

, and was also named a first team All-American by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. Oregon also won the Pac-12 championship for the first time since 2000. She was named the winner of the

Nancy Lieberman Award The Nancy Lieberman Award, named for Basketball Hall of Fame legend Nancy Lieberman is given to the nation's top collegiate point guard in women's Division I basketball. Sue Bird won the inaugural award in 2000, making her the first of only thre ...

as the top Division I women's point guard after the season, and was also a finalist for the Naismith Award. Ionescu became the NCAA women's all-time leader in

triple-doubles In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

, trailing only former BYU men's player Kyle Collinsworth (with 12) among all NCAA players.

Junior season

On November 6, 2018, Ionescu recorded her 11th triple-double in a victory against Alaska-Fairbanks. Twelve days later, she would tie the NCAA triple-double record, with her 12th triple-double in a win against Buffalo. On December 20, 2018, Ionescu recorded her 13th triple-double in a game against Air Force and broke the NCAA triple-double record for both men's and women's basketball. She was later named ESPNW Player of the Week. Since that game, Ionescu added five more triple-doubles for a season total of eighteen and broke the Oregon women's basketball assist record (formerly 608 assists) in a Pac-12 conference game against USC. In the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Ionescu led the Ducks to their first Final Four appearance after a 88–84 victory over Mississippi State. Ionescu finished the game with 31 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and a steal. In the Final Four, the Ducks lost to the eventual national champion Baylor 72–67. Ionescu won John R. Wooden Award and the

as the best women's college basketball player in NCAA Division I. Despite having only played for three seasons, Ionescu was eligible for the 2019 WNBA draft by age. Additionally, she would receive her bachelor's degree that June. However, believing that she had "unfinished business" at Oregon, she chose to come back for her senior season. This announcement came shortly after Ionescu accepted a place in a newly launched one-year master's degree program in brand creation in Oregon's School of Journalism and Communications.

Senior season

In the second game of her senior season on November 13, 2019, Ionescu surpassed the 2,000 points, 800 assists mark for her college career with a 109–52 win over Utah State. She fell short of another triple-double with 16 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds in the game but recorded her 2,012th career point and 810th career assist. In a win over then #3 Stanford (87–55), Ionescu scored a career high 37 points along with 11 rebounds and 7 assists, and broke Alison Lang's Oregon all-time career scoring record of 2,252 points in the third quarter. In the rivalry game against Oregon State on January 24, 2020, Ionescu had 24 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds and broke Oregon State and NBA star

Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was a point guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best know ...

's Pac-12 all-time record of 938 assists. Payton personally congratulated Ionescu on the achievement. On February 14, 2020, Ionescu recorded her 1,000th career assist in a game against #7 UCLA and joined

Courtney Vandersloot Courtney Vandersloot (born February 8, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a five-time WNBA All-Star and two-time WNBA champion. She has also playe ...

as the only players in NCAA men's and women's basketball history with 2,000 plus points and 1,000 plus assists. Ten days later in the Ducks' 74–66 win at #4

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

, she became the first NCAA player ever with 2,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds in a career. Ionescu also recorded her eighth triple-double of the season, tying her own NCAA single-season record from the previous season. Earlier that day, she had been a featured speaker at the

memorial service A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

for

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...

, who had become a close personal friend within the previous two years, flying from Los Angeles to the Bay Area immediately after her speech. On April 14, 2020, Ionescu was named the winner of the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...

as the best collegiate female basketball player in the nation. Ionescu won the AP Player of the Year,

Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is "the most prestigious national award presented annually to the men's and women's college basketball players of the year," as chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors. It is named in honor o ...

, USBWA National Player of the Year and the John R. Wooden Award and the

. Ionescu received the Nancy Lieberman award for her third straight season.

Impact at Oregon

According to Ducks coach Kelly Graves, in 2019 Ionescu had "a chance to be a

Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks footb ...

, that level of player and an esteemed Oregon Duck when it's all said and done." He noted that attendance at Oregon women's games had dramatically increased during Ionescu's career at the school. In the season before she arrived, the average announced home attendance for the Ducks was 1,501. Her sophomore season saw an average attendance of over 4,200; it went up to over 7,100 in her junior season and over 10,000 in her senior season. Ionescu was also a significant draw when Oregon went on the road; for example, when the Ducks visited

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

during her junior season, the crowd for that game was 3,000 more than the Huskies drew two nights earlier against Oregon State. Graves' remarks about Ionescu's future iconic status at Oregon proved to be prophetic. Shortly after the premature end of her senior season (caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

), the university polled fans on social media, asking them to name the four Oregon alumni they would put on a national Mount Rushmore for the university. According to a 2020 story in the university's web journal ''Around the O'', more than 70 suggestions were provided, but the four top choices were Mariota,

Steve Prefontaine Steve Roland Prefontaine (January 25, 1951 – May 30, 1975) was an American long-distance runner who from 1973 to 1975 set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters. He competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and he w ...

Phil Knight Philip Hampson Knight (born February 24, 1938) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist who is the co-founder and chairman ''emeritus'' of Nike, Inc., a global sports equipment and apparel company. He was previously its chai ...

, and Ionescu. As the story's author Damian Foley put it,

Professional career

WNBA

New York Liberty (2020–present)

Ionescu turned 22 in December 2019, making her eligible to declare for the 2019 WNBA draft. A January 2019 mock draft by

, incorporating input from WNBA personnel and ESPN women's basketball analysts, concluded that Ionescu was a possible top pick should she declare. However, Ionescu announced in an open letter published in ''

The Players' Tribune ''The Players' Tribune'' is a new media platform that produces daily sports conversation and publishes first-person stories from professional athletes. The platform was founded by former professional Major League Baseball player Derek Jeter in ...

'' on April 6, 2019, the day after Oregon's loss to Baylor in the Final Four and four days before the draft, that she would return to Oregon for her senior season. On April 17, 2020, the

selected Ionescu with the first overall pick in the 2020 WNBA draft. She played her first game with the Liberty on July 25. In her second WNBA game on July 29 against the

Dallas Wings The Dallas Wings are an American professional basketball team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Wings compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team is owned by a group ...

, she recorded 33 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds in 34 minutes of play. On August 1, 2020, Ionescu injured her left ankle in the second quarter against the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Dream compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded for the ...

. She was diagnosed the next day with a grade 3

sprain A sprain is a soft tissue injury of the ligaments within a joint, often caused by a sudden movement abruptly forcing the joint to exceed its functional range of motion. Ligaments are tough, inelastic fibers made of collagen that connect two or ...

, and was expected to miss about one month while recovering. In the end, though, she did not play again for the remainder of her first professional season. She complained about not being able to be considered a rookie in her second season of playing in the WNBA even though she played two games in her first season. Sabrina Ionesco on the court for the NY Liberty

Sabrina Ionesco on the court for the NY Liberty

The next season, on May 18, 2021, Ionescu recorded her first professional

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

in her 6th career game. She scored 26 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds, she became the fastest player in WNBA history to record a triple double. It was also the first Liberty triple-double, as well as the tenth in league history. On July 6, 2022, Ionescu had 31 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to record the first 30-point triple-double in WNBA history. Ionecscu and the Liberty advanced to the

WNBA Finals The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. The series is played between the win ...

in consecutive seasons (

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

). They were defeated by the

Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home game ...

in 2023, 3 games to 1. The following season, they matched up against the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team won the WNBA ...

. In game 3 against Minnesota, Ionescu scored the game-winning three-pointer to give the Liberty a 2–1 series lead. In the fifth game, she had a bad night shooting the ball, but she contributed leading Liberty with 8 assists and 7 rebounds, 6 of which were defensive, in addition to 2 steals and 1 block in the fifth game, helping the team win its first championship in the history of the franchise.

Unrivaled

Phantom BC (2025–present)

On December 23, 2024, Ionescu was announced as the final roster spot for the inaugural 2025 season of Unrivaled, the women’s 3-on-3 basketball league founded by

Napheesa Collier Napheesa Collier ( ; born September 23, 1996), nicknamed "Phee", is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Collier is also a founder of the Unrivaled (basketball le ...

and

Breanna Stewart Breanna Mackenzie Stewart ( ; Born, August 27, 1994), nicknamed "Stewie", is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is one of the most accomplished women in ...

, signing a deal that "puts her in a category of her own" within the league. Ionescu signed with

Phantom BC Phantom Basketball Club, also known as Phantom BC, is an American three-on-three professional basketball team. They are a member of the Unrivaled (basketball), Unrivaled basketball league, and made their debut in January 2025. The teams are based i ...

, joining her former college teammate, Satou Sabally, and filling the club's final wildcard spot.

Three-point contests

On July 14, 2023, Ionescu scored 37 points in the

Three-Point Contest The Three-Point Contest is a National Basketball Association (NBA) contest held on the Saturday before the annual All-Star Game as part of All-Star weekend. The 2019 iteration of the contest involved ten participants. From its introduction in 1 ...

, the highest in WNBA history, making 25 of her final 27 shots. Stephen Curry holds the NBA record of 31 points. The three-point contest is not a unified record between WNBA and NBA, as the shooting distance and ball sizes are not equal. On February 17, 2024, Ionescu competed against

Stephen Curry Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player and point guard for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Chef Curry", he is widely regarded as the ...

in a

three-point contest The Three-Point Contest is a National Basketball Association (NBA) contest held on the Saturday before the annual All-Star Game as part of All-Star weekend. The 2019 iteration of the contest involved ten participants. From its introduction in 1 ...

during the NBA All-Star Weekend. She scored 26 against Curry's 29 points. Ionescu was invited to participate in the 2024 contest, but declined the offer.

Off the court

On April 17, 2020, Ionescu signed an endorsement deal with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

, which will include signature footwear and apparel. On September 1, 2023, the Nike Sabrina 1's were released as her first signature shoe. On November 11, 2022, she rejoined her alma mater, Oregon, as the director of athletic culture. On November 14, 2022, she was ranked in the

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

30 Under 30 list for Sports. Since 2022, Ionescu has hosted the Sabrina Ionescu Showcase for girls basketball teams in the Bay Area. Most recently these games have been hosted at all-girls high school Carondolet, where her former coach Kelly Sopak now coaches, and its brother school, De La Salle. Her second signature shoe with Nike, the Sabrina 2, debuted in the summer of 2024.

National team career

3x3 basketball

In late April 2018, Ionescu and Oregon teammates Erin Boley, Otiona Gildon, and Ruthy Hebard entered the

USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA, and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States ...

women's national 3x3 championship tournament at the

United States Olympic Training Center The United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Centers (OPTCs) are two campuses created by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as training facilities for its Olympic and Paralympic athletes. They are located in Colorado Spr ...

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

. Ionescu had never before played under

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

3x3 rules, admitting after the tournament, "I had to ask the rules before the games started." She adjusted quickly to the unfamiliar format, leading her team to the championship while going unbeaten and also being named tournament MVP. Ionescu and her Oregon teammates would be named as the US team for the 2018 3x3 World Cup to be held in June in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. At the World Cup, they were the youngest team in the field, but swept their pool, defeating Cup holders

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

along the way. They finished 5th.

2024 Summer Olympics

In June 2024, Ionescu was named to the US women's Olympic team to compete at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

alongside fellow

teammate,

. Ionescu and the United States defeated

67–66 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, earning Ionescu her first Olympic gold medal and the United States’ eighth consecutive gold medal.

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

''Stats current through end of 2024 season'' , - , align="left" ,

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, align="left" ,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, 3, , 3, , 26.6, , .452, , .350, , 1.000, , 4.7, , 4.0, , 0.7, , 0.0, , 4.3, , 18.3 , - , align="left" ,

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, align="left" ,

, 30, , 26, , 30.0, , .375, , .329, , .911, , 5.7, , 6.1, , 0.6, , 0.5, , 3.2, , 11.7 , - , align="left" ,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, align="left" ,

, 36, , 36, , 32.3, , .411, , .333, , .931, , 7.1, , 6.3, , 1.1, , 0.3, , 3.0, , 17.4 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 36, , 36, , 31.5, , .423, , .448, , .872, , 5.6, , 5.4, , 1.0, , 0.3, , 2.6, , 17.0 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;" ,

^† , align="left" ,

, 38, , 38, , 32.1, , .394, , .332, , .898, , 4.4, , 6.2, , 1.0, , 0.3, , 2.7, , 18.2 , - class="sortbottom" , rowspan=2 align="left" , Career , align="left" , 5 years, 1 team , 143 , , 139 , , 31.4 , , .404 , , .363 , , .906 , , 5.6 , , 6.0 , , 0.9 , , 0.3 , , 2.9 , , 16.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;", All-Star , 3 , , 1 , , 21.3 , , .464 , , .444 , , 1.000 , , 5.0 , , 5.7 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.3 , , 14.0

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 1, , 1, , 35.0, , .417, , .143, , 1.000, , 5.0, , style="background:#d3d3d3;", 11.0°, , 1.0, , 0.0, , 2.0, , 14.0 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 3, , 3, , 31.0, , .531, , .400, , .750, , 6.0, , 4.3, , 1.0, , 0.3, , 3.0, , 14.3 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 10, , 10, , 35.1, , .393, , .400, , .913, , 4.2, , 4.7, , 0.8, , 0.7, , 1.7, , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;" ,

^† , align="left" ,

, 11, , 11, , 35.5, , .396, , .363, , .920, , 5.3, , 5.3, , 1.6, , 0.5, , 2.9, , 16.9 , - class="sortbottom" , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 4 years, 1 team , 25 , , 25 , , 34.8 , , .409 , , .372 , , .909 , , 4.9 , , 5.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.5 , , 2.4 , , 15.2

College

, - , 2016–17 ,

, 33, , 33, , 32.9, , .390, , .420, , .825, , 6.6, , 5.5, , 1.3, , 0.2, , 2.9, , 14.6 , - , 2017–18 ,

, 38, , 38, , 35.6, , .468, , .438, , .805, , 6.7, , 7.8, , 1.7, , 0.3, , 3.0, , 19.7 , - , 2018–19 ,

, 38, , 38, , 36.0, , .443, , .429, , .883, , 7.4, , 8.2, , 1.3, , 0.2, , 2.5, , 19.9 , - , 2019–20 ,

, 33, , 33, , 33.7, , .518, , .392, , .921, , 8.6, , 9.1, , 1.5, , 0.3, , 3.0, , 17.5 , - class="sortbottom" , colspan=2 align=center , Career , 142, , 142, , 34.6, , .455, , .422, , .851, , 7.3, , 7.7, , 1.5, , 0.3, , 2.8, , 18.0

Personal life

Ionescu is a Romanian Orthodox Christian. She was close with

, with whom she had one-on-one training sessions, and spoke at the Kobe & Gianna Bryant Celebration of Life at the

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena (originally and colloquially known as Staples Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Los Angeles. Opened on October 17, 1999, as Staples Center, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along F ...

on February 24, 2020. Ionescu is also a very close friend of her former teammate Ruthy Hebard. On March 10, 2024, Ionescu married NFL center and former University of Oregon football player Hroniss Grasu, also a

References

External links

* *
Sabrina Ionescu
at

Sabrina Ionescu
at

archive July 1, 2015
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ionescu, Sabrina 1997 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American people of Romanian descent American women's 3x3 basketball players American women's basketball players Basketball players at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games 3x3 basketball players James E. Sullivan Award recipients McDonald's High School All-Americans Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Miramonte High School alumni New York Liberty draft picks New York Liberty players Oregon Ducks women's basketball players Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in basketball Point guards Basketball players from Walnut Creek, California American twins WNBA All-Stars First overall WNBA draft picks Basketball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Unrivaled basketball players 21st-century American sportswomen

Early life

High school

College career

Freshman season

Sophomore season

Junior season

Senior season

Impact at Oregon

Professional career

WNBA

New York Liberty (2020–present)

Unrivaled

Phantom BC (2025–present)

Three-point contests

Off the court

National team career

3x3 basketball

2024 Summer Olympics

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

Personal life

See also

References

External links