Just like he saw it in me. His sister, Sabrina, is a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) professional). Sabrina Ionescu's resume is long and exceptional: Two-time Pac-12 Conference player of the year; back-to-back First-Team All-American; National Player of the Year candidate; NCAA career triple-double record holder (18); probable No. Photo by Serena Morones . Joki was a Pilipino motorbike enthusiast who, Read More Joki Octaviano Accident And Cause Of Death How Did He Die? She recalled, "My middle school said I should be playing with dolls. Sabrina Ionescu is a professional basketball player who plays for the Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a Point Guard for the New York Liberty. 1 ranked point guard and No. Sabrina Ionescu and brother Eddy are born on Dec. 6, 1997, to Romanian immigrant parents in Walnut Creek, California. November 14, 2022 Sabrina Ionescu makes Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Sports. Christie Hemm Klok for ESPN. At first he was a little skeptical. 7 overall pick to draft sharp-shooter Stephen Curry from Davidson College. Sabrina: That's all I talked about. Ionescu recorded four triple-doubles, one shy of the Pac-12 record and two less than the NCAA record. Ionescu, meanwhile, stars for the New York Liberty. By 50. I had this poem book, and we had to write poems for an entire year. There was no celebration; Ionescu went home to the apartment across the street from Oregon's basketball facility that she shares with her twin brother, Eddy. The WNBA draft order is released in September, and the New York Liberty draw the top pick. Ionescu's Oregon Ducks also won the Pac-12 championship for the first time since 2000. NBA stars like Steph Curry and Kobe Bryant take notice of Sabrina's game. Her sophomore season saw an average attendance of over 4,200; it went up to over 7,100 in her junior season and over 10,000 in her senior season. She was born to proud and supportive parents, Dan Ionescu and Liliana Blaj. In his redshirt junior season at Oregon in 2019-20, Eddy first appeared on Dec. 7, 2019 against Hawaii and had one assist. With 2.6 seconds left, Sabrina misses the front end of a one-and-one that would have tied and perhaps won the game. Ionescus love for the sport started at a young age, as she began playing basketball when she was only three years old. But you see your parents just going to work every day, working hard. One of the most electric basketball players in the world (man or woman) is the WNBA star, Sabrina Ionescu. Katrina, Read More Katrina Gorry Partner Clara Markstedt Is A Soccer Player Children and Age RevealedContinue, Aaron Nesmith brother name is Eddie Nesmith. Dan, Sabrina's father:[The twins] always felt comfort with each other. The Ducks then went 31-2 in 2019-20 with Ionescu. She's going to play at that level. Sabrina Ionescu is ready for a full season in the WNBA after an injury-shortened rookie year. Eddy: Whether she would bust my lip, or I hit her in the nose on accident, or whatever it was, we would absolutely play through the blood. She debuted for Oregon in November 2016, scoring 11 points in a win over Lamar. Marc Spears on Blazers guard Damian Lillard, who reps his hometown on and off the court. With Oregon poised for a No. In an interview with ESPN, the presumptive No. Eddy: Kobe's just wired different is what she told me. Hroniss Grasu, Sabrina's partner, is a well-known free agency football center who has experience playing for several clubs, including the Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, and San Francisco 49ers. But everything comes to a halt when the NCAA announces a complete shutdown of winter and spring championships. [39] However, Ionescu announced in an open letter published in The Players' Tribune on April 6, 2019, the day after Oregon's loss to Baylor in the Final Four and four days before the draft, that she would return to Oregon for her senior season. I think she kind of wanted to do it at her own pace. They would compete against older men at the basketball court to win extra money. The well-known WNBA player Sabrina Ionescu's twin brother is Eddy Ionescu. [4][5] Eddy played basketball at the City College of San Francisco before transferring to Oregon; he was solely a student in the 201819 school year[6] before walking on to the Ducks men's basketball team in 201920. Whether it was our chores, whether it was our homework, whether it was eating dinner, racing to whoever can get in bed first. He'd come to visit, but not having him always to talk to in person was a lot different for me. You could really see how invested everyone was. Sabrina Ionescu had 31 points, seven rebounds and eight assists Sunday to lead Oregon to an 88-84 win over Mississippi State in the Portland Regional final at Moda Center. [29], In the second game of her senior season on November 13, 2019, Ionescu surpassed the 2,000 points, 800 assists mark for her college career with a 10952 win over Utah State. With her darting moves, pinpoint passes and. 4 Stanford. Liliana: I still feel like I'm just living in dreams, especially at the bigger games, and when I know that next year she's going to join a professional team, it's something that I never thought was going to happen. March 28, 2020. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. [36] Ten days later in the Ducks' 7466 win at #4 Stanford, she became the first NCAA player ever with 2,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds in a career. A Big 3 of Jones, Stewart and Ionescu would. Stanley, Read More Stanley Wilson Jr Wife Was He Married? [3] By that time, Dan owned a limousine service in Northern California, where he had chosen to settle because he had several extended family members in that area. Our dad was the outlet pass, so he didn't stop it for anything. He has an older brother named Nico, who was a placekicker for Washington State from 2008 to 2010. Forward Ruthy Hebard bought into her best friend's mission of changing the culture at Oregon. 1 seed in the Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament. "There won't be another group like this ever.". We drove up here, walked in, surprised [coach] Kelly Graves. While we wait and wonder about what will be, we reflect on the moments and milestones that have already been. I didn't tell anyone. That stuff comes out in you. It motivates her to go back and practice more from learning from her mistakes. He noted that attendance at Oregon women's games had dramatically increased during Ionescu's career at the school. According to TMZ Sports, a rookie trading card of Ionescu has officially become the most expensive WNBA trading card in history, selling for $10,800 on Sunday night. While everyone knows that Ionescu is a baller and can compete with the best of the best on the basketball court, some might not know that she actually has a twin brother who also plays basketball. With help from an Ionescu 3-pointer that puts them up by six with 1:12 left, the Ducks beat Mississippi State 88-84 in the Elite Eight to advance, at last, to the Final Four, where they play Baylor. He just eats, sleeps, loves everything about basketball, which is literally the same thing with her. Like [laughs], why's she yelling at open gym? They just cheered for the team and cheered for Sabrina. Sopak: The biggest challenge she has now is overcoming losing. Related Accounts. Sabrina Ionescu was born on 6th December 1997 and grew up in Walnut Creek, California, to her Romanian-American parents. The New York Liberty guard, 25, shared on Saturday that she and the Las Vegas Raiders center, 31, are set to wed. "It . Like regular kids. Doesn't work. I remember we were neck and neck with this one team. November 11, 2022 New York Liberty guard, Sabrina Ionescu rejoins her alma mater as the director of athletic culture. 1 defensive team. And he definitely helped me with that, growing up. And so he starts bawling, and then I start crying. The following year, Sabrina leads the Pac-12 in points and assists, and the Ducks earn a 2-seed in the NCAA tournament. What she had done, as a 12-year-old member of the Toastmasters International Club, was write a speech titled "How My Basketball Dreams Began. Sabrina Ionescu Popularity . She broke the NCAA triple-double record for womens and mens basketball. In 2012, Sabrina and Eddy enroll at Miramonte High School, where Sopak coaches. 1 overall pick in the 2020 WNBA draft by the New York Liberty. And now I use my left hand more than my right. Sabrina Ionescu and longtime beau Hroniss Grasu are "finally" getting married! BROOKLYN, NY - JULY 23: Sabrina Ionescu #20 of the New York Liberty dribbles the ball during the game against the Chicago Sky on July 23, 2022 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. In her career, Ionescu was the first player in NCAA history (male or female) to score 2,000 career points and have 1,000 career rebounds and 1,000 career assists. Ionescu told Insider she thinks she should be a rookie again this year, but the WNBA disagrees. They had heard the language at home throughout their lives. Ionescu finally committed to Oregon just before the school's 2016 summer term began, driving with her father for 8 hours from their Bay Area home to Eugene, making an unannounced visit to Matthew Knight Arena and telling head coach Kelly Graves that she would join the team. Her mother is Liliana Blaj and she has a twin brother Edward ("Eddy"). Sabrina Ionescu has been in the spotlight since she was a teenager. She was an Oregon Ducks basketball player in college. Dan Ionescu and Liliana Blaj, her proud parents, welcomed her into the world. We print the highest quality ionescu t-shirts on the internet It was part introduction and part prophecy. [28] This announcement came shortly after Ionescu accepted a place in a newly launched one-year master's degree program in brand creation in UO's School of Journalism and Communications. They would compete against older men at the basketball court to win extra . I do thorough research before writing and am always up-to-date on new technologies. From here on out, really, everything's gonna be for him and what he taught me. Sabrina gets her first collegiate triple-double just seven games into her Oregon career, in a 91-62 victory over San Jose State. With the eight she'll add in her third year in college, she will become the NCAA leader in triple-doubles. I went to Stanford. And then Kelly didn't say anything, he just handed me the papers with the stats on it and continued to have his postgame speech. And that was it. And so I was like, "All right, well this is my chance, I'm going to say something.". She led the Pac-12 in scoring (19.2) and assists, dishing out 7.8 assists per game which was fifth-most in the country.