Sabrina Ionescu Played Game 5 of WNBA Finals With Injured Shooting Hand

Much was made about New York Liberty star Sabrina' Ionescu's shooting woes in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, despite the Liberty defeating the Minnesota Lynx to win the championship.

That's because Ionescu was just 1-19 from the floor, a shooting line that was historic for its inefficiency. However, it has since been revealed that Sabrina persevered through that game with an injury to her shooting hand.

girly naurrr, i forgot she hurt herself 😭 pic.twitter.com/GmlC4cVn70
— iz lvs ionescu ୨ৎ (@sunkisses4bella) October 28, 2024

Ionescu had been seen with a brace of sorts on her hand in recent days, so it was reasonable to assume she was dealing with some sort of ailment. Particularly after seeing her clearly suffering from pain in that area during portions of the Finals series. But a report from Alexa Philippou of ESPN has now provided the details.

According to Philippou's source, the exact nature of Ionescu's injury is a high-grade UCL tear in the thumb. The UCL is a ligament near where the thumb meets the hand and Sabrina reportedly hurt it in Game 4. Which means she played the entirety of the decisive contest through the ailment.

Source: The New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu suffered a high-grade UCL tear in her right shooting hand in Game 4 of WNBA Finals.

No surgery is required and a full recovery is expected. https://t.co/4fXdMvT95N
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) October 31, 2024

The injury shouldn't limit Ionescu going forward, as ESPN stated she will be reevaluated in four weeks and is expected to make a full recovery.

Ionescu of course hit one of the biggest shots in the history of the sport to lead the Liberty to victory in Game 3, that coming before hurting her thumb. Despite the injury and its possible impact on her shooting performance the rest of the series, Sabrina and company still went on to hoist the hardware.

Which led to a parade in the streets of New York, and Ionescu getting to celebrate in style.