Queen of the Hill: Ionescu Lauds Liberty's 'Best Basketball in New York'

Sabrina Ionescu held nothing back in placing the New York Liberty atop the metropolitan area's finest basketball fare.

It requires a slight lyrical adjustment, but the New York Liberty would make Frank Sinatra proud as queen of the hill, top of the list, a-number one ... though Sabrina Ionescu's Nike deal assures they'll be wearing anything but vagabond shoes longing to stray.

The WNBA's reigning three-point ruler and latest sneaker magnate certainly doesn't see New York sports as cursed, hoping that the area's championship-starved fanbase be drawn to the Liberty's postseason affairs. Their first leg of a seven-step championship journey began on Friday in Barclays Center, as the Liberty topped the Washington Mystics 90-75 in the opening match of a best-of-three first-round set.

In the pregame lead-up, Ionescu was asked about how the Liberty defied the perception that modern New York sports have been cursed. The guard has paid no mind to the misfortunes of the Liberty's de facto brothers, reasoning that New Yorkers can watch them bust any supposed hex in person if they make it out to Brooklyn.

"I've kept quiet because I feel like we're going to let our work from here on out do the talking and we'll be able to shut up those people on Twitter that have anything to say about what's been going on with New York sports," Ionescu said. "As far as I'm concerned, we've been playing the best basketball that's been played here in New York City for a very long time and whether people recognize it or not, they will in the next couple of weeks, so I'm excited to see what they have to say then."

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

While the New York Knicks, the Liberty's former hardwood siblings, certainly opened the summer with a basketball bang (winning their first playoff series since 2013), neither they nor the Brooklyn Nets (the Liberty's current roommates at Barclays Center) have had a run like the seafoam-branded affair on Atlantic Avenue. 

It'd be hard for any NBA team to match the Liberty's franchise-best winning percentage (.800 after a 32-8 mark) but neither the Knicks nor Nets have been able to generate any sustained postseason success. Both have squandered prime opportunities with prime talents like Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving. There's relative hope for the Knicks, armed with a core of Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, and RJ Barrett as they hope to build upon a season that ended in the fifth spot on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket.

The Liberty have flourished upon the arrival of historic WNBA talents like Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, and Courtney Vandersloot, who joined retained All-Stars Ionescu and Betnijah Laney. 

Though Ionescu made it clear that the Liberty were the city's best basketball option, she did show appreciation for Nets star Mikal Bridges, who has been a frequent prescience in Barclays' sideline seating. 

As it stands, the Liberty stands as the New York professional sports team most undeniably capable of satisfying the city's championship needs. A long summer for the Mets and Yankees will likely lead to no representation in the MLB postseason, the Giants and Jets dealt with their own unique brands of losses in the opening stanza of the NFL season, and the Islanders and Rangers were removed from the Stanley Cup conversation early on. 

Ionescu has been a bit of a unifying prescience among New York fanbases this summer: clad in pinstripes, she threw out the first pitch of the final 2023 Subway Series game between the Mets and Yankees at Yankee Stadium and has marked her many triples by imitating the celebrations of both Bridges and Brunson.

Members of the Liberty commented on the supposed disrespect from those who claim that there's dark magic afoot in New York sports.

"It's kind of a bit of ignorance," head coach Sandy Brondello said. "People that have been to these games will obviously tell everybody how great it is. But it's more about breaking down the barriers or the perception ... Females play a really good style of basketball as well. I always encourage people, if you just come you're going to fall in love with it." 

"I think we've made so many new fans this year just with the way that we played and the great players that we have, not just here in New York, but obviously the visiting players as well, too ... We're used to it, but, hopefully, we continue to break down the barriers and, and the perception that goes around with that and we can continue to grow this great game of ours."

Ionescu put forth another historic effort in the opening win over Washington, sinking a franchise single-game playoff record seven triples en route to 29 points. New York has a chance to close the series out on Tuesday night in Brooklyn (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).