Sabrina Ionescu Returns From Injury to Kick off WNBA Season

The New York Liberty star begins her second professional season tonight against the Indiana Fever.

Author:
Dylan Reubenking
Publish date:
May 14, 2021 10:53 AM EDT

The 25th WNBA season is here.

Former Oregon Duck and NCAA triple-double queen Sabrina Ionescu is preparing for her sophomore campaign with the New York Liberty, although to her, it feels more like her rookie year.

The 2020 No. 1 overall pick suffered a grade 3 left ankle sprain in just her third game as a pro. She was off to a brilliant start too — she struggled against the eventual champion Seattle Storm in her debut (12 points on 4-17 shooting) but bounced back with 33 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists against the Dallas Wings in just her second game. She scored 10 points in 12 minutes against the Atlanta Dream prior to her injury.

Ionescu missed the remainder of the season, and the Liberty won just two games out of 22 in head coach Walt Hopkins’ first season as a head coach. Even if she hadn’t gotten injured, it would have been an odd rookie season regardless, as the WNBA played a shortened, fanless season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It definitely feels different being in New York and playing in front of fans and our families,” Ionescu told reporters at the Liberty’s media day this week. “It kinda feels like my first season — it basically is.”

Ionescu hasn’t played a game in 287 days (she suffered the injury back on July 31, 2020) but has participated in training camp and other offseason workouts while rehabbing her ankle. She traveled to New York in November to have minor surgery that removed scar tissue in her ankle.

While she had just a limited taste of competing at the professional level — she played about 80 minutes before getting hurt — she is expected to help rebuild a Liberty franchise that has won just 19 games in the last three seasons combined.

The Liberty were the youngest team in WNBA history in 2020, as seven rookies took the floor. Last season was the team’s worst winning percentage (9.1%) in franchise history, earning the first overall pick in the draft for the second straight season before trading the pick to Seattle Storm, which traded the pick to the Dallas Wings.

In the offseason, the Liberty made some big moves to surround Ionescu with more talent. They traded for three-time WNBA champion and former Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard, and in free agency, the team signed reigning Most Improved Player Betnijah Laney and two-time WNBA champion Sami Whitcomb.

The Liberty also added more young talent in the 2021 draft, selecting UCLA forward Michaela Onyenwere with the sixth pick and Baylor guard DiDi Richards in the second round. 2019 2nd overall pick Asia Durr was slated to return after opting out of last season, but she will reportedly miss her second straight season due to COVID-19 complications.

Ionescu’s main goal in 2021 is to stay healthy and show people that she’s still the player that led the Oregon women’s basketball program to new heights, and that she’s still the player that put up 2,562 points, 1,040 rebounds and 1,091 assists in her college career.

“I just want to get healthy and stay healthy,” Ionescu said. “But on the court, my goal is to just do what I’ve been doing my entire career and just having fun doing what I love and helping those around me and finding ways to win.

“I’m very excited for the opportunity to do that — helping out, playing the game I love with teammates around me that are great and coaches around me that are great.”

Ionescu’s second season begins tonight at home against the Indiana Fever (7 PM ET on NBA TV), making her debut at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the Liberty’s new home. The future is blinding for the seafoam green and black, and the Liberty will go as far as Ionescu will lead them.

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