Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu Earns Another League Award
Sabrina Ionescu earned a sterling souvenir after the New York Liberty's recent road trip.
Ionescu was announced as the winner of the WNBA's Eastern Conference Player of the Month for July 2025, the fifth such title of her career and first this season. The All-Star point guard's prior POTM award, ironically, was earned last July.
Though the Liberty (18-10) have been besieged by medical turbulence, currently working through a lengthy stretch without contributing triumvirate Kennedy Burke, Nyara Sabally, and Breanna Stewart, Ionescu has happily saddled a larger load.
In 10 July showings, Ionescu kept the fireworks rolling all month with averages of 21.4 points, 6.6 assists, and 5.5 rebounds. She was the only July participant to average 20-5-5 in the respective categories and also displayed a strong defensive prowess, averaging over a steal per game. For her efforts and more, Ionescu also earned the last two Player of the Week titles for July.
July also featured another sterling All-Star showing from Ionescu, as she became the second player in WNBA history to win multiple 3-Point Contests during the exhibition festivities in Indianapolis. She helped the Liberty sweep the All-Star prelude, as fellow backcourt maven Natasha Cloud won the Skills Challenge. Ionescu then partook in her fourth All-Star Game as a New Yorker, repping a team captained and curated by Caitlin Clark.
Appropriately, Ionescu played a major role in a landmark Liberty victory on Sunday: not only did New York end a four-game losing streak with an 87-78 win over the Connecticut Sun but Ionescu earned her first double-double of the season with 36 points and 11 rebounds, one short of her career-high in the former category. It was also the 500th victory in Liberty history, allowing them to become the fourth franchise to reach half-a-thousand.
Ionescu's fifth POTM award as a member of the Liberty breaks a tie with Stewart for the second-most in franchise history, behind only the eight earned by Sunday opponent Tina Charles.
Joining Ionescu in the monthly honor department is former Finals foe Napheesa Collier, who averaged 23.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists for the league-leading Minnesota Lynx.
Collier closed things out with a 30-point, nine-rebound showing in a 100-93 win over the Liberty on Wednesday night, one that countered a 31-point effort from Ionescu. That game was the first of four WNBA Finals rematches between the Liberty and Lynx, with part two destined for Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon.
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.