Sabrina Ionescu Played Game 5 of WNBA Finals With Injured Shooting Hand
Much was made about New York Liberty star Sabrina' Ionescu's shooting woes in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, despite the Liberty defeating the Minnesota Lynx to win the championship.
That's because Ionescu was just 1-19 from the floor, a shooting line that was historic for its inefficiency. However, it has since been revealed that Sabrina persevered through that game with an injury to her shooting hand.
girly naurrr, i forgot she hurt herself ð pic.twitter.com/GmlC4cVn70
â iz lvs ionescu āĻā§ (@sunkisses4bella) October 28, 2024
Ionescu had been seen with a brace of sorts on her hand in recent days, so it was reasonable to assume she was dealing with some sort of ailment. Particularly after seeing her clearly suffering from pain in that area during portions of the Finals series. But a report from Alexa Philippou of ESPN has now provided the details.
According to Philippou's source, the exact nature of Ionescu's injury is a high-grade UCL tear in the thumb. The UCL is a ligament near where the thumb meets the hand and Sabrina reportedly hurt it in Game 4. Which means she played the entirety of the decisive contest through the ailment.
Source: The New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu suffered a high-grade UCL tear in her right shooting hand in Game 4 of WNBA Finals.
â Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) October 31, 2024
No surgery is required and a full recovery is expected. https://t.co/4fXdMvT95N
The injury shouldn't limit Ionescu going forward, as ESPN stated she will be reevaluated in four weeks and is expected to make a full recovery.
Ionescu of course hit one of the biggest shots in the history of the sport to lead the Liberty to victory in Game 3, that coming before hurting her thumb. Despite the injury and its possible impact on her shooting performance the rest of the series, Sabrina and company still went on to hoist the hardware.
Which led to a parade in the streets of New York, and Ionescu getting to celebrate in style.
Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his burgeoning YouTube show. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak on SI!