Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu has accomplished a lot in the past year.
Being named to her third WNBA All-Star team, winning an Olympic gold medal and helping the Liberty win their first title are among the most notable accomplishments.
But as 2024 nears an end, Ionescu has ensured she’ll be part of yet another significant endeavor.
Sabrina Ionescu (20) has joined the new Unrivaled league. APIonescu on Monday officially signed on for Unrivaled’s inaugural season in what the league called a “historic agreement.”
Unrivaled, a new three-on-three women’s basketball league cofounded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, said Ionescu would take up the final wild-card spot, making her the 36th player to join Unrivaled ahead of its debut next month in Miami.
Ionescu is the third player from the Liberty’s championship roster to sign onto Unrivaled, joining Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot.
The news comes a little more than two weeks after Ionescu underwent a procedure to repair a ligament in her right thumb.
Sabrina Ionescu during the Liberty’s championship parade. GC ImagesHer recovery timeline was said on Dec. 9 to be about four weeks before she could return to basketball activities.
That means, barring any setbacks, Ionescu should be cleared to play for the Unrivaled season-opening weekend Jan. 17 and 18 in Miami.
Ionescu will play for the Phantom, where she’ll be reunited with former Oregon teammate and potential Liberty free-agent target Satou Sabally.
Brittney Griner, Natasha Cloud, Katie Lou Samuelson and Marina Mabrey round out the Phantom’s roster.
Phantom coach Adam Harrington said last month following Unrivaled’s first roster draft that league officials were in talks with several players about filling the three wild-card positions.
Asked specifically about potentially adding Caitlin Clark, Harrington said she or Ionescu would be great candidates for Unrivaled.
“They obviously are amazing needle-movers and incredible young women and basketball players,” Harrington said. “It would be exciting to add players of that caliber and talent. So I’m excited in general for the league and Unrivaled.”
Clark reportedly declined a $1 million offer to participate in Unrivaled, but Ionescu will provide a certain star power and notoriety that should help the league expand its footprint in what’s already a saturated time in the sports schedule.
Ionescu has been one of the biggest names in women’s basketball since she starred at Oregon and helped the Ducks to a Final Four in 2019.
Sabrina Ionescu, of the New York Liberty acknowledges the fans. Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesIonescu never got a storybook ending to her college career after the NCAA Tournament was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Liberty ultimately drafted Ionescu No. 1 overall in 2020, and she’s played for New York ever since.
Last season, Ionescu averaged 18.2 points, 6.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds en route to being among the team’s top performers during its run to the WNBA title.







