“You Deserve to Be There”: Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart’s Emotional Reaction to Paris Olympics Call Gets Immense Love From Team USA Fans

Despite Caitlin Clark’s omission, Team USA won’t be short of big names at the Olympics. From A’ja Wilson to Brittney Griner, the roster is stacked. And now they have only gone and added the reigning WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart and All-Star teammate Sabrina Ionescu. The New York Liberty teammates have made history with their selection and fans are excited for them.

USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley was present in the hotel and gave Ionescu and Stewart their respective jerseys. Expressing her delight Ionescu remarked, “Oh, my gosh! I can’t really put it into words. Obviously, it’s super emotional but just super thankful to represent the United States.” This will be her Olympic team debut and she will be wearing the number 6 jersey for the United States.

Meanwhile, Stewart, a two-time Olympic gold medalist at the Rio and Tokyo games, said, “Incredible feeling to be here with my team. Very unexpected for Jim Tooley to be here. You know… I’ve played basketball for a long time and to continue to keep it growing calls for another goal which one is Paris.” Stewart will don the number 6 jersey for her country in Paris.

With this, Stewart and Ionescu join four Liberty players named to Olympic rosters in franchise history. Tina Charles (USA, 2016), Rebecca Allen (Australia, 2020), Han Xu (China, 2020) and Marine Johannès (France, 2020) are those who were selected to the Games before them.

Their selection has come after their impressive performances this season. Stewart has averaged 18.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.0 blocks in 32.8 minutes per game during the 2024 season. Last season’s MVP also ranks fifth in defensive rebounds per game (7.5) and steals per game (3.2), as well as sixth in rebounds per game (9.4).

Meanwhile, Ionescu has averaged 17.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 32.5 minutes per game during the 2024 season. Ionescu ranks eighth in the WNBA in three-pointers made per game (2.5) and assists per game (5.5).

Meanwhile, fans expressed their support when the news about Ionescu and Stewart’s inclusion in the Olympic team was revealed.

“Y’all will be there making history,” fans share delight over Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart’s inclusion

“I Know Kobe Is Soooo Proud Of Sabrina❤️❤️❤️” one fan remarked. The fan must have been referring to the close relationship between Kobe Bryant and Ionescu. Bryant had met Ionescu after one of her games in 2019 at Oregon. After that, the bond between the two grew such that after the tragic helicopter crash, Ionescu was a speaker at Bryant’s celebration of life ceremony. She was also a close friend of Bryant’s daughter, Gianna. Therefore, Bryant would have been super proud had he seen Ionescu receiving a jersey for her first Olympics.

“Sabrina, you deserve to be there. You are one of the greatest basketball players. I got your shoe. They are amazing. This is what I’m talking about. Hard work dedication discipline yourself and believing yourself and you will make it,” another netizen wrote. The fan overtly stated that they were using Sabrina’s sneakers. The Sabrina 1s were launched in September 2023, while the Sabrina 2s are expected to hit the shelves in June 2024.

Ionescu & Co. took Liberty to their fifth WNBA Finals last year but failed to grab the title. Nonetheless, Ionescu made a place for herself in the WNBA All-Star Team.

“Congratulation to three point specialist,” a user stated. The follower pointed out the fact that Ionescu is a three-pointer specialist. During the 2024 NBA All-Star Saturday Night, she had a 3-point contest against NBA star Stephen Curry. While Curry scored 29 points, Ionescu just lost the game only by a tally of 3 as she scored 26.

In addition to the two Liberty stars, Team USA’s women’s basketball will carry prominent names such as Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner , Kelsey Plum and Alyssa Thomas among others. The squad will consist of nine players who have already earned at least one Olympic gold medal.

As such a fan had every reason to be confident when they wrote, “I purchased my ticket straight into the finals because I know y’all will be there making history.” The USA women’s basketball team has bagged gold in the previous seven Olympics and have win a total of 9 gold medals. They will become the first team to have eight gold medals in a row in women’s basketball if they bag this one. So, the optimism isn’t misplaced.

Despite this, there have been some eyebrows raised over Caitlin Clark’s exclusion. But Team USA defended the decision, citing the Indiana Fever star’s lack of experience. Clark has said this will work as motivation for her, but her fans aren’t happy with the decision.

“Def deserved but no CC is wild’! SMH,” one netizen exclaimed that Ionescu deserved her spot, but still, the team was missing Caitlin Clark. While the Clark debate is still out there, there is little doubt that after the selection of Sabrina and Breanna Stewart, Team USA has gone with its strongest possible line up as they try to win a record breaking eight gold medal in a row in Paris.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.