Sabrina Ionescu Asserts Fun Is First Priority at Unrivaled
The opening weekend of the Unrivaled 3x3 women's basketball league received rave reviews from fans and the media.
While the expectation was that Unrivaled would deliver, there were still several uncertainties because of some novel rules that the league includes. And considering how this new league is at the center of the WNBA's offseason, there may have been some skepticism about how hard Unrivaled's roster would be playing in these games.
New York Liberty and Phantom BC superstar Sabrina Ionescu spoke with the media on January 20. And at one point, she delivered some thoughtful words about where her priorities lie when stepping on to the Unrivaled court.
"Obviously, this is the middle of our offseason. And I think there's kind of a fine line in understanding you're here to get better and continue to work on your game. But also, I can't be mentally locked in like I am for the W season here now, or I'd be burnt out by the time the W starts," Ionescu said, per the Moreau Sports Media YouTube account.
"Because I am so competitive and take everything so seriously. And obviously in the game, you see that. But I think off the court, being able to just be around a lot of great players, I'm taking full advantage of that," She added.
"For me, it's kind of finding balance and understanding how fun it is to be able to play in a league like this where you're able to surround yourself with the best players, continue to work on your game, and get better, but also enjoy kind of being around one another," Ionescu concluded.
Unrivaled is fun. pic.twitter.com/dn38Ojzlv9
— Domo 🗽 🏆 (@ddubxdo) January 20, 2025
Ionescu's Phantom BC have their second Unrivaled game against Vinyl BC on Monday night.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.