Sabrina Ionescu hands out laptops at NBA All-Star event, eyes eventual rematch with Steph Curry

CBS News

14-02-2025

WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu was back in her native Bay Area Thursday, teaming up with AT&T and Human IT to hand out hundreds of laptops to Oakland schoolchildren.
On Thursday night, the New York Liberty point guard and Miramonte High School graduate was at the East Oakland Youth Development Center to meet and greet members of the community.
"Being born and raised right here in the East Bay, it's really important to be able to give back to the next generation," said Ionescu. "So very happy to be here and knowing how it's going to impact a lot of these families here."
She teamed up with AT&T and Southern California-based nonprofit Human I-T to hand out hundreds of laptops to disadvantaged students.
"It makes a big difference," said student Kaniyaa Richardson who received a laptop. "I don't gotta rush to get it done at school. I can go home. I don't gotta worry about it."
Richardson was thankful for her new laptop but she was also star-struck by the WNBA All-Star, league champion and Olympic gold medalist.
"Today when they told me she was going to be here, I was, 'for real?'" she asked. "Like, I wasn't really believing it. Then I seen her and she was really here. I was, like, I'm going to ask her to sign my shoes."
All the student attendees are part of the East Oakland Youth Development Center, an organization that works to give them the skills they need to succeed in life.
"These kids are the future so I want to instill resilience and power into them," said Amar Karim, a youth advisor for the center.
Karim was a part of the program as a child and before becoming a youth advisor. He feels giving kids the tools they need to succeed will go a long way in achieving their goals.
"I really want to inspire Black young men like me to take their education seriously and take their opportunities seriously," he said. "Not waste on stuff that's temporary."
While Ionescu took time to give back to her community, many in the Bay Area were also looking forward to another 3-point contest showdown between her and Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry this weekend. The NBA said it tried to set up the rematch from last year's All-Star festivities, but couldn't work out the details. So for now, the rematch is on hold.
"No, I'm not disappointed," said Ionescu. "I think it's obviously an event that we had last year and it went so well. It takes a lot to kind of go into that and make sure it's all planned out in a way we want to make sure is moving the needle. So there's going to be many more opportunities for us to be able to go out there and compete."