Editor’s Word: This story is a part of a sequence from SB Nation profiling the 2025 WNBA All-Star groups. Immediately, let’s get to know Sabrina Ionescu.
Sabrina Ionescu hit one of many greatest photographs in basketball historical past final October, a Sport 3 game-winner within the WNBA Finals, en path to her first WNBA championship.
“It’s a shot that I take usually,” she stated. “I take it in observe, I take it earlier than the video games. It’s not like a Hail Mary, hope-this-goes-in. As soon as I bought it off, I used to be like, ‘Yeah, that is it.’”
She adopted that huge second up with one other All-Star season, this time averaging a career-best factors per sport.
Ionescu is an All-Star for the fourth time in her profession, including one other accolade to an accolade-filled resume.
The 5’11 guard is the NCAA’s all-time chief in triple-doubles, was the Naismith School Participant of the Yr her senior 12 months at Oregon, and has been a three-time member of the All-WNBA Second Staff.
And, she famously holds the file for many threes made at an All-Star three-point contest at both the NBA or WNBA degree — that file was set when she hit 25 of 27 makes an attempt en path to 37 factors in 2023.
This season, Sabrina Ionescu has struggled offensively
The Liberty’s title protection season hasn’t been all easy crusing. Whereas the staff was dominant at full energy, issues haven’t been the identical since final 12 months’s Finals MVP, Jonquel Jones, went down with damage.
They’ve dropped 5 of their final ten video games, and Ionescu has been in a little bit of a hunch herself. On Saturday, in a slim win over the Dream, Ionescu scored 9 factors on simply 3 of 20 taking pictures. On Wednesday, she adopted that up with a 15-point, 5-14 taking pictures efficiency (albeit alongside 9 assists).
This season, the previous Oregon star has averaged 18.8 factors, 5.3 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per sport. She’s taking pictures 38% from the sphere and 30.9% from three, each profession lows.
Nonetheless, she’ll partake within the WNBA All-Star three-point contest on Friday, the place she’ll immediately be one of many headliners, alongside Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark and a number of other others, together with Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum, Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Grey, and Washington Mystics rookie Sonia Citron.
And, nearly inevitably, she’ll quickly discover her rhythm. The Liberty guard holds the file for many threes made in a single WNBA season (128 in 2023). That season, she shot a ridiculous 44.8% from three. Since then, she’s hit loads of huge ones.
Amid the taking pictures struggles, Ionescu is attending to the road greater than ever earlier than, making an attempt 4.9 free throws per evening on a ridiculous 93.4% taking pictures. Her protection is best than ever, and she or he’s averaging a career-best 1.6 steals.
Ionescu, regardless of some uncharacteristic taking pictures struggles, stays important for the Liberty’s repeat hopes.
