Amid new stars on the Liberty, don't forget about Sabrina Ionescu
New York Liberty player Sabrina Ionescu in a practice game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Monday. Credit: Louis lanzano
The last time this sort of professional basketball chemistry experiment was conducted in Brooklyn, the result was a toxic cloud that rose over Kings County.
In at least one sense, what the Liberty now are attempting is an even greater challenge than the Nets’ superteam strategy that went awry.
That is because for all the buzz over adding world-class stars Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot and Jonquel Jones, the Liberty already had a world-class star on their roster, and she is not going anywhere.
Remember Sabrina Ionescu, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft and was last seen averaging 17.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 2022?
Last season, she was the best player on the team. This season, she will be . . . what? Perhaps in a tie for second behind Stewart?
It would be difficult to find anyone in or around the Liberty who is concerned about Ionescu’s ability to adapt her game and ego to the new circumstances.
But if it turns out to be a greater challenge than she or others expected, it would not be the first time in sports history that happened.
Ionescu did not get to be one of the best players in women’s college basketball history at Oregon by being a shrinking violet. She is a baller.
Yet now she is but one cog in what on paper should be a WNBA powerhouse.
At the team’s media day on Monday, she shared an interview room table with Stewart and Jones, and fully embraced the moment.
“It’s been the goal since I got drafted here,” she said, “the understanding of having the backing of the front office and an organization that wants to bring a championship to New York City.
“Like ‘Stewie’ said, it doesn’t happen overnight. We started at the bottom and have now worked our way into being this desirable team that two former MVPs [Stewart and Jones] want to come and be a part of and be a big part of winning a championship.”
She added, “Now it’s our job to go out there and perform and build chemistry and do what we can in the pursuit of doing that.”
The Liberty have lost 20 games in each of the three seasons since Ionescu was drafted, but their victory totals have gone from two to 12 to 16.
Anything less than their first winning season since 2017 would be a shock. Anything less than their first championship would be a disappointment.
Job One for coach Sandy Brondello will be assessing how to deploy all this talent, and assembling a jigsaw puzzle of positions, playing time and personal pride.
“It takes a really unique individual to be able to galvanize a group like this,” general manager Jonathan Kolb said.
Said Brondello, “No team can win a championship without their best players buying in.” She added, “Not everyone will get equal minutes."
Ionescu need not worry about her minutes, and she figures to benefit from having so much help around her. But like everyone else, she must adapt.
Remember, her mentor was the late Kobe Bryant, who on the court was famously . . . well, not shy.
The best thing about this training camp for Ionescu is full health. Her first season in 2020 was cut short by an ankle injury that continued to nag her in 2021 and beyond.
“It’s been a blessing,” she said. “I think as athletes a lot of the time, especially if you haven’t dealt with an injury, you can sometimes take days for granted and take the practices and all the small things [for granted].
“I think it’s definitely put it into perspective for me being able to have my first healthy offseason and being able to train from the day the season ended last year to this point now. I’m very excited.
“It’s been rewarding already, just being able to be in training camp from Day One to now and continue to work on my game and be my best self for this team and not having to deal with that obstacle.”
Ionescu’s “best self” has gotten her this far. The next test might be her best selflessness.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
