Can you call it a comeback if the first act never really happened? It was the most anticipated debut in recent WNBA history, the should-have-been rookie season of 2020 first-overall pick Sabrina Ionescu.
But just 12 minutes into her third game with the New York Liberty, the then 22-year-old suffered a season-ending ankle sprain that ultimately led to surgery.
Speaking Monday at the Liberty’s media day, Ionescu spoke about the mental grind of returning from her injury.
“I think before it was a lot of — you just kind of get in your head. ‘What’s going to work? What’s not going to work? How [are you] going to adjust to sitting out for 10 months and not being able to play the game?’” she said. “Now that I am finally back out there and playing and just getting reps under my belt, it feels good.”
The Liberty finished the 2020 season with a 2-20 record. Assistant coach Shelley Patterson says you can feel the change Ionescu brings to the team.
“You can tell when she is on the floor. You can see it, you can feel it, you can see how people play off of her, the confidence that they have in her,” Patterson said. “Also knowing the fact that we have her on the floor [means] we have an extra shooter makes a huge difference.”
In her less than three games in the WNBA’s “wubble,” Ionescu averaged 18.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 45.2 per cent from the floor. She’ll officially be entering her second season in the league, but the California native thinks the WNBA should amend the rule so a rookie season is determined only after players log a certain number of games.
“If you personally asked me, I am counting this as my first year. I played against not even three teams, so for me this is finally my first year in the league,” she said. “They have their rule for a reason — I am not sure what it is — but I’m not too worried about it.”
Ionescu listed the Phoenix Mercury as one of the teams she’s looking to take on, but she has one main goal to enter the season:
“I just want to get healthy and stay healthy. That is the main thing — taking care of my body and figuring out what I need to do. On the court it’s just doing what I have been doing my entire career just having fun doing what I love and helping those around me and finding ways to win.”
The Liberty will take on the Indiana Fever to open each of their seasons on May 14.
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