A woman in basketball might not be the most conventional thing, but there isn’t any difference between a male’s dunk and a female’s dunk. Sabrina Ionescu, an American basketball player, is breaking stereotypes with her fantastic performance.
She currently plays for the New York Liberty of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). WNBA is a women’s counterpart of the NBA.
She played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. Sabrina has already earned a few honors. She is the NCAA all-time leader in career triple-doubles.
She is also the Pac-12 Conference all-time leader in assists. Further, she happens to be the only player in NCAA Division I basketball to have recorded 2,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds.
The world might not always be equal for both genders. Females like Sabrina Ionescu prove that women can shine bright even with a lack of privileges.
Now, we will talk about this incredible woman’s personal and professional life. Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Quick Facts about Sabrina Ionescu
| Full name | Sabrina Elaine Ionescu |
| Known as | Sabrina Ionescu |
| Birthdate | December 6, 1997 |
| Birthplace | Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, California, United States |
| Religion | Christian |
| Nationality | American |
| Descent | Romanian |
| Horoscope | Sagittarius |
| Father’s name | Dan Ionescu |
| Mother’s name | Liliana Blaj |
| Siblings | Two Brothers (one of which is her twin) |
| Brother’s name | Edward Ionescu “Eddy” (Twin)Andrei Ionescu |
| Age | 24 Years Old |
| Education | Miramonte High SchoolUniversity of Oregon |
| Height | 5 feet 11 inches (180c m) |
| Weight | 165 lbs. (75 kg) |
| Eye color | Dark Brown |
| Hair color | Brownish Blonde |
| Marital Status | Unmarried |
| Relationship Status | Not Known |
| Children | None |
| Profession | Basketball player |
| Current Affiliation | Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) |
| Plays for | New York Liberty |
| WNBA draft | 2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall |
| WNBA debut | July 25, 2020 |
| Awards and Honors | USBWA Player of the Year (2020)Senior CLASS Award (2020)
Honda Sports Award (2020) Thrice – Nancy Lieberman Award (2018–2020) USBWA National Freshman of the Year (2017), etc. |
| Net worth | Around $150 k |
| Social Media Handles | Instagram, Twitter |
| Merch | Autographed college Photos, Jersey & Autographed College Basketball |
| Last Update | May, 2022 |
Sabrina Ionescu – Early Life and Family
Sabrina Ionescu was born on December 6, 1997, in Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, California, United States. She was born to proud parents Dan Ionescu and Liliana Blaj.
She has two brothers. Edward Ionescu, known as Eddy, is her twin. Eddy is eighteen minutes younger than Sabrina.
Sabrina and Eddy have an older brother, Andrei Ionescu. Andrei is nine years older than the twins.
The family is Romanian-American. Dan and Liliana have now parted their way with a divorce.
The Family Thing
Sabrina’s father, Dan Ionescu, ran away from Communist Romania during the 1989 revolution. He came to the United States seeking political asylum.
He left his then-wife, Liliana, and their son, Andrei, back in Romania. Dan hoped that he could reunite with them in a few months.
However, things didn’t go as per Dan’s expectation. His wife and son could not move to the United States until 1995. The family was separated for almost six years.
Dan had settled down in the United States by 1995. He owned a limousine service in Northern California. He chose to settle down in Northern California because he had a few extended family members living in that part.
The Motivation for Little Sabrina
Sabrina started playing basketball at the age of 3. She obviously did not understand the game then but enjoyed throwing the balls, collected a lot of experience playing on her brothers’ 10-foot hoop. Andrei Ionescu is his little sister’s inspiration. He was tough to play with, which later sharpened Sabrina’s skills.
Growing up with two boys who loved basketball, Sabrina found joy in every point and rebounds. The family always knew that their girl would make it to the WNBA.
She was stubborn and very keen to improve her game. She called herself a natural scorer in an interview.
Sabrina remembers playing with guys when she was young and having to find ways to get the ball. The boys never wanted to pass it to her.
She discovered that if she could rebound, she would be able to get the ball herself.
She remembers being shorter, skinnier, and small than the teammates because she played with an eighth-grade team when she was in sixth.
Eddy and Sabs
The Ionescu twins did everything together. They competed every day in everything from doing chores and going to bed to racing and basketball.
Eddy was no less when it came to stubbornness and competitiveness. They would play and fight, and it would get severely intense at times with blood and wounds.
Sabrina believes that the idea of fighting for every rebound with Eddy and the other party’s reluctance to give it helped her a lot in the long term.
Eddy: The Other Gem
Edward Ionescu also plays college basketball for Oregon Ducks like his sister. He first got associated with City College of San Francisco, per Oregon’s team site.
He recorded 6 points per game in his freshman year. Similarly, he registered 9.9 as a college sophomore. Eddy then joined Oregon Ducks.
He played his first game with the Oregon Ducks in his redshirt junior season in the 2019-2020 seasons. It was on December 7, 2019, against Hawaii, where Eddy managed to have one assist.
He has also played matches against Utah, Oregon State, and California.
Sabrina Ionescu – Middle School
Ionescu attended a middle school that lacked enough girl players to form a baseball team. She considered playing with the boys, but her school refused the idea.
The school literally told her that she should be playing with dolls. She remembers recruiting enough girls to enable her school to have a team as a response.
Sabrina Ionescu – High School Basketball Career
Ionescu went to Miramonte High School in Orinda, California. She trained under Coach Kelly Sopak in high school.
She was a four-year varsity basketball letter winner at her high school. Ionescu created many benchmarks for her juniors to score.
She has been honored with the USA Today Girls Basketball Player of the Year. She also received the Max Preps Player of the Year award.
Similarly, she earned a Gatorade State Player of the Year award. She then became a McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand All-American selection.
Likewise, she was named the McDonald’s All-American game Most Valued Player (MVP).
She ended her journey with Miramonte with a career win-loss record of 119–9. She also set a school-record of 2,606 points scored.
Ionescu was ranked as No. 1 ranked point guard and No. 4 overall players in the recruiting class of 2016.
She then chose Oregon University over all the other universities that made an offer. It is said that Sabrina wanted to be all-American specifically at Oregon, not just an all-American in some other college.
She stood up as the highest-ranked recruit that has ever committed to play for Oregon Ducks.
However, she faced difficulties while deciding on a college for herself as she had not signed a National Letter of Intent with any school. She missed the early signing period in November 2015 and also the late period in April 2016.
Ionescu finally made the final commitment to join Oregon. She got associated with the, just before the school’s 2016 summer term began.
Sabrina Ionescu – College Basketball Career
Freshman Year
Sabrina was named the 2017 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. The decision was made based on votes made by league coaches.
She was the first Oregon Duck to win the title since 1999. Similarly, she was the second Duck to have received the honor in Oregon’s history.
Ionescu was named Pac-12 Freshman of Week four times. She was also named United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) National Player of the Week.
Likewise, she won the USBWA National Freshman of the Year title as the nation’s top freshman.
Sophomore Year
She was also named ESPNW’s college basketball player of the week in her sophomore year. She contributed to leading the Ducks to their third regular-season league crown.
The team also received their first-ever No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament with Sabrina on their side.
She was then named the Pac-12 Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year. She also became the first team All-American by ESPN. I
Oregon Ducks also won the Pac-12 championship for the first time since 2000 with Ionescu’s contribution. Ionescu then became the winner of the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top Division I women’s point guard.
Similarly, she was a finalist for the Naismith Award. She was also named NCAA women’s all-time leader in triple-doubles.
Junior Year
Ionescu had her 11th triple-double in a victory on November 6, 2018, against Alaska-Fairbanks. She then made an NCAA triple-double record.
Similarly, she had her 12th triple-double in a win against Buffalo.
Ionescu registered her 13th triple-double on December 20, 2018, against Air Force. She broke the NCAA triple-double record for both men and women basketball with that score.
She was then named ESPNW Player of the Week.
Ionescu also contributed to leading the Oregon Ducks to their first Final Four appearance after their 88–84 win over Mississippi State. She won the 2019 John R. Wooden Award along with Duke’s Zion Williamson after the season ended.
The award is provided annually to the most outstanding man and woman collegiate basketball player that year.
Ionescu became eligible for the 2019 WNBA draft in terms of age. However, she had only played three seasons at college at this time.
She was about to receive her bachelor’s degree in June of that year. She chose to return for senior year to Oregon to work on her “unfinished business.”
Ionescu had also accepted a place in a newly-launched one-year master’s degree program in brand creation at UO’s School of Journalism and Communications by this time.
Senior Year
Ionescu stood up as the first NCAA player ever to have recorded 2,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds in a career.
She was also a featured speaker at the memorial service for Kobe Bryant in her senior season. Bryant had become a close personal friend of Sabrina within the previous two years. She flew from Los Angeles to the Bay Area right after her speech.
Ionescu became the winner of the Honda Sports Award on April 14, 2020. She won the award as the best collegiate female basketball player in the United States.
Impact at Oregon
Ionescu is a gifted and supremely talented player. She carries the potential to leave a part at every place that she goes to.
The Oregon Ducks Coach Kelly Graves said that Ionescu could be a player like Marcus Mariota. He referred to her as an esteemed Oregon Duck.
He also said that Ionescu’s presence at the university has drastically elevated the women’s attendance in Oregon games.
Oregon had the average announced home attendance of 1,501 before Ionescu’s admission. The number increased to 4,200 by her sophomore year.
Similarly, it elevated to 7,100 when she was in her junior year. The number became a whopping 10,000 in her senior year.
She was lucky to Oregon, and Oregon was lucky to her. With the increase in number, Oregon started getting fame and recognition.
When the Oregon Ducks visited Washington during Ionescu’s junior season, more than 3,000 people gathered.
The number is more than what the Huskies gathered two nights earlier against Oregon State.
Influence
People in Oregon knew that Sabrina had a long way to go. Graves’ commented on Ionescu, telling how iconic status she would hold. His statement proved to be prophetic indeed.
Oregon State University created a poll for fans on social media when Ionescu was in her senior year. The poll asked them to name the four Oregon alumni they would put on a notional Mount Rushmore for the university.
Ionescu was on the four top choices, along with Mariota, Steve Prefontaine, and Phil Knight.
Sabrina Elaine Ionescu’s presence alongside the legends in the list might be a little too hard to digest for some. But this wonder woman is beyond expectations and conventional standards. She is a legend in the making.
Sabrina Ionescu – Professional Basketball Career
Ionescu turned 22 in December 2019, getting eligible to declare for the 2019 WNBA draft.
She was even considered to be a possible top pick by a January 2019 mock draft by ESPN. The mock draft incorporated input from WNBA personnel and ESPN women’s basketball analysts.
But Ionescu chose to resume at Oregon as a senior. An open letter was published in The Players’ Tribune on April 6, 2019, regarding her decision.
Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Sabrina finally joined the WNBA tribe. The New York Liberty of WNBA drafted her with the first overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft on April 17, 2020.
She made her WNBA debut on July 25, 2020. She then recorded 33 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds in 34 minutes of play in her second WNBA game on July 29. It was against the Dallas Wings.
Ionescu injured her left ankle on August 1, 2020. The injury happened in the second quarter against the Atlanta Dream.
The doctors diagnosed her with a grade 3 sprain the next day. She was expected to be disabled for a month while recovering.’
Sabrina Ionescu – National Team Career
Ionescu has represented the United States in basketball tournaments. She entered the USA Basketball women’s national 3×3 championship tournament at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in late April 201.
Her Oregon teammates Erin Boley, Otiona Gildon, and Ruthy Hebard also accompanied her.
She had never before played under FIBA 3×3 rules before. She admitted having to ask the rules before the games started.
The incredibly gifted Sabrina adjusted quickly to the new format. She then contributed to leading her team to the championship.
She was unbeaten throughout the game. Ionescu was also named tournament Most Valued Player (MVP).
Ionescu and her Oregon teammates also got picked for the United States team for the 2018 3×3 World Cup to be held in June in the Philippines.
They were the youngest team on the field at the world cup. But they managed to shine, defeating Cup holders Russia.
Sabrina Ionescu – Net Worth
Ionescu has just started her professional career. A lot of opportunities followed by cash are waiting for her.
SABRINA IONESCU’S NET WORTH IS ESTIMATED TO BE AROUND $150 K.
She manages to live a decent life in her 20s by earning herself.
Sabrina Ionescu – Social Media Presence
Ionescu is very active on her social media handles. She communicates With her fan via Instagram and Twitter.
On Instagram, she is available as @sabrina_i making 633k followers at the moment. Ionescu has shared around 28 posts on Instagram. Her posts are mostly related to her basketball career highlights.
Likewise, the young player is also active on Twitter and shares most of the career highlights from this platform. She has around 112.5k fan following on Twitter. Sabrina joined Twitter in December 2012 and has made around 2k+ tweets.
Common Queries about Sabrina Ionescu
Who is Sabrina Ionescu?
Sabrina Ionescu is a young basketball player from the United States. She has represented the United States in inter-nation tournaments. She currently plays for the New York Liberty of WNBA.
Similarly, she played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks.
Ionescu is a name that is certain to spread and live in people’s hearts. This girl is charming and has potential that would make her nation’s favorite someday.
Which nationality is Sabrina Ionescu? Where is she from?
Sabrina Ionescu holds an American nationality. She was born to Romanian-American parents.
Her father immigrated to the United States in 1989, followed by her mother and elder brother in 1995.
Ionescu is an American-born with Romanian roots. Also, she was born in Orinda, California.
Why did Sabrina Ionescu choose Oregon?
Sabrina chooses Oregon because she wanted to be the all-American at Oregon, not just an all-American somewhere else but only at Oregon.