Women's Fastbreak On SI

Sabrina Ionescu Claps Back at Claims Lynx Were Robbed of Liberty's WNBA Championship

New York Liberty star guard Sabrina Ionescu set the record straight about the controversial calls that supposedly dictated the WNBA Finals' outcome.

Grant Young

Oct 20, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) celebrates after defeating the Minnesota Lynx in game five of the 2024 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Oct 20, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) celebrates after defeating the Minnesota Lynx in game five of the 2024 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The New York Liberty are the 2024 WNBA champions after defeating the Minnesota Lynx in what might have been the best WNBA Finals series in league history.

While the Liberty dominated the Lynx in overtime of Game 5 to secure their franchise's first WNBA title, New York making it to overtime in the first place came through controversy. With her team down two points and a few couple seconds left in regulation, 2023 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart received a foul call that most believe should not have been called. Stewart sank both free throws, sending the game to overtime.

Lynx players and coaches have lamented this foul call, with Napheesa Collier calling Game 5's result "injust" on Tuesday. However, Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu doesn't see it that way — and she made that stance very clear during a recent interview.

"I mean, we're champions," Ionescu said when asked about the Finals' outcome during a recent interview with Overtime. "I think [officating] is part of the playoffs. If you've watched any series, officiating never goes the way that you want it. We could have said the same thing about Game 4."

Ionescu is alluding to a questionable foul that was called on her during the final seconds of Game 4, which her head coach Sandy Brondello blasted referees for after the game ended.

"And that's kind of part of winning," Ionescu added. "Like, a lot of things have to go right, We're thankful for the opportunity to call ourselves champions, and nobody is going to remember what call was made when. All we know is we're in the history books forever."

Ionescu is certainly right about that.

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

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.

Home/News