Oregon Ducks Star Sabrina Ionescu Joins Unrivaled 3x3 Basketball League

From bringing the Oregon Ducks women's basketball program to its first Final Four in 2019 to winning the WNBA's New York Liberty's first title this past season, Sabrina Ionescu continues to increase the popularity of the sport with this move to Unrivaled.

Oct 20, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) celebrates after defeating the Minnesota Lynx in overtime to win the 2024 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Fresh off her WNBA title with the New York Liberty, Oregon Ducks legend Sabrina Ionescu is the final signee to the first of its kind 3x3 league with the best that women's basketball has to offer. It was announced by ESPN's Kendra Andrews that the 36 inaugural players to compete in Unrivaled will all have a share of the total salary pool of $8 million along with receiving equity in the league that will vest over a four-year period.

For context, Ionescu signed a two-year contract worth $410,060 at the start of the 2024 season. Her average salary per season is $205,030 with New York.

New York Liberty Guard Sabrina Ionescu hold the Women's National Basketball Association Championship trophy over her head during the Oregon women's basketball game against Baylor at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Unrivaled was founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart back in 2023 to allow players in the WNBA to continue to play professional basketball domestically during the offseason. The two entrepreneurs are offering the players local housing with access to gym and practice facilities which will be paid for by the league.

Games will be played on a full court with two ends and the four quarters will be seven minutes long. The six teams competing will be Laces basketball club, Lunar Owls basketball club, Mist basketball club, Phantom basketball club, Rose basketball club, and Vinyl basketball club.

The league is set to debut on Jan. 17, 2025 in Miami, Florida with major caliber names like former Ducks star Satou Sabally, Angel Reese, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Courtney Vandersloot, Brittney Griner, Aliyah Boston, Cameron Brink, and many other WNBA stars. Connecticut Huskies Paige Bueckers and LSU Tigers Flau'jae Johnson are set to join Unrivaled starting in 2026 where the league will expand and start playing games across the United States.

Former Duck Sabrina Ionescu, left, meets Oregon women's basketball coach Kelly Graves after the Duck's exhibition game against Southern Oregon at Matthew Knight Arena Oct 29, 2023 in Eugene, Oregon. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Alongside coach Kelly Graves in Eugene from 2016-2020, Ionescu became the face of women's college basketball. As a senior, Ionescu was named the Naismith College Player of the Year as well as the NCAA's season assist leader at 299 total. Her career averages were 18.0 points per game on a shooting split of 45.5 field goal percentage, 42.2 three-point percentage, and 85.1 free throw percentage. She also averaged 7.7 assists per game and 7.3 rebounds per game though 142 games.

With the Liberty, Ionescu has career averages of 18.2 points per game, 6.2 assists per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, and 1.0 steals per game. She has been named an WNBA All-Star three times from 2022-24 and was listed on the All-WNBA Second Team during that same span. During this past summer, Ionescu won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

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