Sabrina Ionescu Joins Liberty Teammate's New League

The New York Liberty will have a little more representation in the incoming Unrivaled league.

Sep 24, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) celebrates with forward Breanna Stewart (30) during game two of the first round of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs against the Atlanta Dream at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Unrivaled had an early Christmas gift for New York Liberty fans.

The incoming domestic 3-on-3 league, co-founded by Liberty star Breanna Stewart, announced on Monday that Sabrina Ionescu would join the league as its 36th and final participants, completing rosters for the six-team league set to be staged in Miami.

Ionescu will be taking her talents to South Beach and Phantom BC, where she'll reunite with former University Oregon teammate Satou Sabally. Others stationed on Phantom include Natasha Cloud, Brittney Griner, Marina Mabrey, and Katie Lou Samuelsson.

Ionescu's inclusion serves as an inspiring sign for not only Unrivaled, the new endeavor from the minds of Stewart and Napheesa Collier but also Liberty fans. Shortly after the Liberty took home their first postseason championship, Ionescu underwent a procedure to repair a Ulnar collateral ligament injury in her thumb. Ionescu underwent the procedure on her 27th birthday less than three weeks ago.

In addition to their shared tenure in seafoam, Ionescu and Stewart collaborated on the United States' women's national basketball team's latest run to Olympic hardware, capturing the most recent gold medal at the Paris Games over the summer. Ionescu averaged 18.2 points with 6.2 assists this season and placed sixth in MVP voting. She also hit her finest three to date in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals, one that provided not just the winning margin in an 80-77 victory but also gave New York a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series against Collier and the Minnesota Lynx.

The point guard is one of three names inserted into the wild card spots let loose during the player distribution process: Phantom BC has another in Samuelson while Cameron Brink was placed with Lunar Owls BC. Brink will not play in the debut season as she continues to rehab from an ACL injury that wiped out most of her WNBA freshman campaign.

Unrivaled tips off on Jan. 17 in Miami and will now feature three active Liberty stars, as Ionescu joins Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot, both of whom are stationed on Mist BC. Seafoam civil war breaks out three times on the debut schedule, with the first meeting slated for Jan. 24.

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