4 reasons Sabrina Ionescu should actually be the most popular WNBA player

Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty is one of the recognizable players in the WNBA. With that said, there’s a good argument to be made that Ionescu should be the current face of the league, given a few things she has going for her. All statistics are sourced from Basketball Reference.

While it can come with the most pressure, playing in the WNBA’s biggest market can also do wonders for popularity. Sabrina Ionescu had the unique opportunity of being the brightest star in a place that loves them, New York City.

In March 2024, Ionescu and New York Knicks star point guard Jalen Brunson both appeared in an AT&T March Madness advertisement that was well received throughout the college basketball tournament. After the commercial’s release, Sports Illustrated wrote that Ionescu and Brunson had both become the faces of New York basketball.

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New York City has nearly nine million residents, according to the city’s website, which gives Ionescu’s special basketball talent plenty of room to be discussed by the people that live there. She would be an iconic figure in almost any WNBA market, but the fact that her performances have the chance to live in with that many people in one city give her an edge most players don’t have.

There’s something unique about connecting important figures in basketball history with one another. Ionescu didn’t just meet former Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant once or twice; she forged a friendship with him that withstands the test of time. Bryant is revered by basketball fans 40 and under, and the fact that he chose to take Ionescu under his wing means something.

Ionescu told the Los Angeles Times, “We kept in touch, always texting, calls, game visits. I’d drop a triple-double and have a test from him ‘Another triple-double I see you’ with a flex emoji.” He also gave her invaluable pointers. “He told me how high my arc needed to be on my shot, how to angle my foot, which led to kick-out. How much power to push off.”

Ionescu would help Kobe Bryant coach his daughter Gigi’s summer league team, the Mamba Ballers. She felt like it was the least she could do, given the vested interest Kobe had in her development. Ionescu said during Bryant’s memorial service, “He didn’t just show up in my life… he stayed.”

Ionescu has stayed close to the Bryant family after Kobe’s tragic death in 2020 as well. They were on hand cheering Ionescu on during the 2024 Olympics in Paris. As captured by People’s website in May 2024, Ionescu still plays basketball with the Bryant girls, including Kobe’s daughter Bianka.

Sabrina Ionescu won her first WNBA championship during the 2024 season, which puts her career in a different light than it was before. Titles help validate how much a player contributed to a winning environment, and Ionescu’s achievement in this regard stamps the importance of her impact.

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Ionescu came up with one of the most clutch shots in league history during Game 3 of the WNBA Finals. She drilled a three pointer with time winding down to give New York a crucial victory. It’s the type of play that will be shown over and over again throughout the years and on social media, which is another reason why Ionescu’s popularity should skyrocket.

Of course, Ionescu isn’t the only WNBA player with a title, but a ring combined with all of her other accomplishments and appeal should make her the face of the league. There are a lot of other WNBA players getting more attention who haven’t made a WNBA Finals or won a title, which might misguide the pecking order when it comes to ranking stars.

Ionescu and the Liberty were in the 2023 WNBA Finals as well, which demonstrates that New York has been and should continue to be in the running for a title in the near future. This continued contending shows that the 26-year-old star has a chance to put together a resume that ranks right up there with some of the sport’s legends.

Her accomplishments in the WNBA would be enough to warrant her becoming the face of the league, but Ionescu has starred in high-profile NBA events that increase her star power even more. This was fully apparent when she went head-to-head with Stephen Curry in a head-to-head three point shooting competition during All-Star Weekend in February 2024.

The idea was that Curry would shoot behind a regulation NBA three point line, and that Ionescu would shoot behind the regulation WNBA three point line. However, the Liberty star decided to shoot behind the NBA line. She told ESPN that she did this “to just continue to push boundaries and equal the playing field.”

The competition was much closer than many people expected. Curry defeated Ionescu by a final score of 29-26. ESPN noted that Ionescu made her first seven shots, setting the tone that she was capable of staying with Curry, known as the greatest shooter in basketball history.

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Even though Ionescu didn’t come out on top that night, her performance will withstand the test of time. History will determine whether or not it gets discussed as prominently as Billie Jean King’s tennis match with Bobby Riggs from the 1970s, but Ionescu definitely etched her name in basketball lore in one of the most unique ways possible.