Liberty Star Making Up for Lost Time in WNBA Finals

Sabrina Ionescu's ongoing surge and the denial of previous championships make the New York Liberty especially dangerous in the 2024 WNBA Finals.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

BROOKLYN -- New York Liberty point guard Sabrina Ionescu has been studying film and looking for the right chemistry ... namely that between Kristen Bell and Adam Brody on the lauded Netflix rom-com series "Nobody Wants This."

"Love a good rom-com," Ionescu smirked as she met with reporters prior to Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.

There is, of course, little doubt that Ionescu is locked into game film, the Netflix breaks saved for traveling. Her scoring output, averaging 20.7 points on nearly 49 percent from the field is certainly indicative of that and has placed the Liberty a mere three wins away from their first postseason championship.

To earn that historic hoist, Ionescu and the Liberty will have to get through the Minnesota Lynx, beginning with Game 1 on Thursday night (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). No one in New York would try to claim the title for her own, but a metropolitan championship clinch might mean just a little more to Ionescu, who owns the most Liberty experience at five seasons. Ionescu is the lone New Yorker left from the team that opened the decade, as she partook in two-plus contests in a two-win showing in the Bradenton bubble back in 2020.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

That season saw plenty taken from Ionescu through means beyond her control: her last shot at a collegiate national title was eliminated by COVID-19 restrictions and her first professional campaign was interrupted by injury.

Ionescu believes that such denial and three years of falling short in the WNBA Playoffs (including a four-game loss to Las Vegas in last year's Finals) will pay off in the Liberty's chase for an elusive first championship.

"I think being able to have the experience of going through what we went through last year, it's just better equipped me to be able to understand how to get through it in this moment," Ionescu said, mentioning that a "piece of (her)" will "given back" to her alma mater if and when the title comes. "That year that that got taken away from us, it's a tough one. It's something that you never really heal from."

"But I feel like if we're going to be able to get it done this year, for me personally, it's all kind of part of the journey."

Ionescu has certainly done her part to ensure that a title hoist comes: with the exception of a one-sided loss in Game 3 of the semifinals to Las Vegas, Ionescu has scored at least 17 points in each of her six playoff games thus far and her scoring average is second among remaining playoff participants behind only Minnesota's Napheesa Collier.

While Ionescu has showcased her trademark deep ball ability (becoming just the fourth player in WNBA history to hit at least one triple in at least 20 consecutive playoff games), she continues to penetrate for doubles. She's taken over 51 percent of her attempts from two points this time around in the postseason, up nearly 14 full points from last year's Finals run.

Already impressed with Ionescu's evolved leadership in a crucial season, head coach Sandy Brondello chalked up the adaptation to the "greatness" the point guard carries.

"Sabrina is so professional, she wants to be great," Brondello, herself an accomplished backcourt talent, said during the semifinals. "She went away in the offseason and worked out, came back with more confidence. It's the work that she put in Her first step got better. Something we really focused on was her ability to get downhill and finish mixing it up on hands. It's a credit to the work that she's done."

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