Making it to the Olympic squad this time around clearly signifies the hard work poured in by Sabrina Ionescu. For the past 4 years, the Oregon alum has made quite a reputation for herself by being an integral part of the New York Liberty. However, not all roses were red when she was drafted as the No.1 overall pick in the 2020 drafts.

The rookie year for Sabrina Ionescu in the WNBA was really a challenging endeavor. Soon after her advent into the league, she was forced to sit on the sidelines. This was courtesy of a Grade 3 left ankle sprain she suffered during Liberty’s 84-78 loss to the Atlanta Dream.

Following her minor ankle procedure, she returned to the court. But, she was nowhere near her best playing state. Recalling that experience in a recent interview with Lisa Robinson for Vanity Fair magazine, she said, “I rushed back into playing. New York was so excited to have the number one pick. And, I felt I had let my team down”. 

Doctors had to remove a loose bone chip that was causing issues with the tendon behind her ankle during the surgery. This procedure requires a decent amount of time to heal. So Ionescu had to sit out the rest of her rookie season, with just 3 games to her name. Hence when the next season arrived, the 5’11 guard was quick to jump into her role, suffering the consequences as they came.

She reminisced, “I let all the media scrutiny get into my head and it took a huge toll on me. I wasn’t 100% and I almost had to have a second reconstructive surgery; I was playing in pain.” Ionescu played 30 games that season averaging 11.7 points, 6.1 assists, and 5.7 rebounds.

It took her 2 years to completely recover from the injury. When she arrived for the 2022 season, the 2022 NCAA assist leader had undergone eight months of rehab during the off-season. That came as a season of learning for Sabrina. For, the injury wasn’t all she had to endure.

Sabrina Ionescu on what made it worse

It took a total of 5 injections for Sabrina Ionescu to make her way back to the court. But, what eventually was disheartening was the immense hostility that she had to deal with at that time. Casting her mind back to that, she expressed, “But the hard part was battling the negativity I received from the rest of the league and social media”. 

Anyhow, Sabrina Ionescu managed to find a silver lining amidst all this. She used the criticism to help her own cause and turned it into a driving force to work even harder. “I used to read the comments a lot more, and I was pushing myself to prove I belonged in the league. It just taught me that I had to run my own race and not focus on what everyone around me was saying,” Ionescu concluded her point.

Then on May 18, 2021, the Liberty guard recorded the franchise’s first ever triple-double and became the fastest one to do so in the league. She put up  26 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds against Minnesota Lynx to etch her presence. The real journey, however, started in 2022, when she had learned that taking care of her body wsan’t really selfish and called the season a career reset.

Indeed, these harsh experiences did play their part in taking the 5 ft 11 in guard to where she is now. The success that she now has under her name are testament to her desire to be among the best. Hopefully, there is so much more that she has to offer in the upcoming days.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And, join us for the exciting pilot episode of the “Dual Threat Show”. Our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and SEC All-Freshman Team Selection, Silas Demary Jr.