Will Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu Win Her First WNBA Title in 2024?

Oregon Ducks basketball superstar Sabrina Ionescu is looking to win her first WNBA championship with the New York Liberty. As of Aug. 19, her team is the favorite in Vegas.

Aug 15, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) and guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) celebrate in the first half against the LA Sparks Crypto.com Arena. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Ranked first in the Eastern Conference, the New York Liberty are now the favorites to win the WNBA Championship, according to oddsmakers at ESPN Bet. The Liberty have won their first two games after the Olympics break, extending their winning streak to six games and bettering their overall record to 23-4.

Former Oregon Ducks star and first overall pick, Sabrina Ionescu is currently playing her fourth season in the league. Each year, Ionescu and the Liberty have improved, and now they are the first team in the WNBA to clinch a playoff spot with a 79-67 win over the Las Vegas Aces on Aug. 17.

“We’re super excited to clinch a spot in the playoffs. Obviously, our goal isn’t to just make it there, but it’s continuing to win these games that we have coming up. Continuing to get better as a team and focus on ourselves. Obviously, it’s a really long season, we’re just kind of getting back into it. It’s nice to see we’ve been able to pick up where we left off and keep grinding away,” said Ionescu.

After the Liberty signed two-time MVP Breanna Stewart in free agency in 2023, the team reached the WNBA finals but fell short to the Aces.

Aug 15, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) and guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) celebrate in the first half against the LA Sparks Crypto.com Arena. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Reflecting on the growth shown by the entire organization, Ionescu said, “It’s been amazing getting drafted here to the 12th team in the league and now being able to be towards the top and continue to fight for that number one spot. Just being able to see the growth of this organization year by year, we’ve just continued to get better and demand more from us as players, from this organization.”

Ionescu and company have 13 games left before the postseason, and with a 3.5 game lead in the Eastern Conference, the Liberty are still competing for the top seed in the playoffs.

Ionescu and Stewart are fresh off an awe-inspiring run in the 2024 Summer Olympics, in which the women's basketball Team USA beat France to claim gold for the eighth consecutive Olympics.

However, Ionescu’s and Stewart’s Olympic breaks were far from relaxing. Speaking to the quick transition, Stewart said, “This second half of the season is really important, and there’s no excuses. Nobody cares if we just came off the Olympics and we have a game four days later in a nine hour time-zone change. When you think about it, it’s a little bit wild.”

Aug 11, 2024; Paris, France; United States guard Sabrina Ionescu (6) celebrates after defeating France in the women's gold medal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

For Ionescu, the goal remains the same no matter the amount of jet lag. “Obviously we’re not done yet, we’re going to continue to put these games together, continue to grind out W’s, and try to bring a championship back to New York,” she said.

Up next, Ionescu and the Liberty will host a struggling Dallas team on Aug. 20 and Aug. 22.

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