Sabrina Ionescu Details Decision to Become Final Unrivaled Player
On December 23, the basketball world learned that New York Liberty superstar and 2024 WNBA champion Sabrina Ionescu will be playing in the Unrivaled 3x3 league, which tips off on January 17.
In addition to Ionescu's Unrivaled deal putting her, "'in a category of her own' among the women participating in the new league" according to ESPN, this news is intriguing because it makes her the 36th and final player to be taking part in Unrivaled.
This meant it took Ionescu longer than the other players to decide whether she wanted to join the league. And in a December 23 article from Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press, Ionescu discussed what went into her ultimate decision.
“It was a huge decision getting me to play or not,” Ionescu said in the article. “I weighed out all my options and decided to do what’s best for me and my career. Being able to take part in a league that is the first of its kind with a historic deal and be on the ownership side of it is important for me.”
There have been rumors that Ionescu (along with Caitlin Clark) is going to face Steph Curry in another NBA versus WNBA 3-point challenge at the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend, which occurs in the middle of Unrivaled's season.
However, Ionescu revealed that Unrivaled is accommodating about her potentially missing time.
“I have certain dates that I have to be gone for. They were very accommodating with things I already accepted and have to be gone for before I committed to the league,” Ionescu said.
It also came out that Ionescu played Game 5 of the WNBA Finals with an injured thumb, which she recently had surgically repaired. Ionescu addressed her return timeline by saying, "I should be cleared and ready to go and be able to be there and be a part of it. The first year [of Unrivaled] was something I wanted to experience and have ownership is a big part in that as well.”
The article ended with Ionescu adding, "I’m excited. Obviously it’s a great opportunity to be able to play and continue to refine my game in the offseason. It’s a great opportunity to compete against the best players in the league that are now in Unrivaled.”
Had a great chat with @sabrina_i20 tonight about joining @Unrivaledwbb and her recovery from thumb surgery: https://t.co/umRvyBnDrd
— Doug Feinberg (@DougFeinberg) December 24, 2024
The league (and its fans) are also excited that she's on board.
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.