It's Sabrina Ionescu's world, and she's leaving her mark

Yahoo

7 hours ago

NEW YORK — Between midday class periods in middle school, Sabrina Ionescu scooped food onto trays of her fellow students in California's Bay Area. Working in the cafeteria entitled her to free lunch and guaranteed her a meal.
When her twin brother, Eddy, passed through the lunch line, she often dished him an extra helping. She knew he enjoyed the added serving, but she also reasoned that when she finished her responsibilities, she could mooch off his plate and benefit as well. 'I served that lunch as best as I could,' she said. Who would expect anything different?
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As a child of Romanian immigrants, unending determination and work ethic were the fabric of Ionescu's upbringing. Even when her middle school didn't have enough players for a girls basketball team, she recruited and convinced her classmates to sign up and play.
'Being able to just see how hard my parents had to grind to be able to make it here, speaking no English, finding a job. It's something that's ingrained into who you are,' said Ionescu, whose first language is Romanian. 'It's something that you never forget. That's just how you grew up, and I'd say that's why I am who I am today.'
Presently, that's a WNBA and Olympic champion with global reach, a star whose signature Nike sneaker is one of the most popular among not only her W peers, but NBA players as well. She's a few weeks into the New York Liberty's title defense, and as her sixth season (fifth, really, considering her rookie season lasted only three games because of injury) progresses, she and the Liberty are eyeing a repeat. On the first day of Liberty training camp in April, Ionescu issued a locker room challenge to teammates. 'Can we win again and be in conversation for the best sports team, the best dynasty, not necessarily the best for basketball, but in general?' she asked.
So far, the returns are encouraging. Ionescu is on track to make a fourth consecutive All-Star appearance next month and is as efficient as she has ever been, with career highs in points per 36 minutes (23.2) and a career-low in turnovers (2.1). The Liberty won their first nine games before losing Saturday to the Indiana Fever, and have a league-best average point differential (15.7). New York would clinch a spot in the Commissioner's Cup championship with a victory Tuesday over the Atlanta Dream, coupled with a Fever loss.
Ionescu was a superstar coming out of Oregon, drafted No. 1 by the Liberty in 2020. Her popularity and impact haven't faded. But now, Ionescu is in the midst of an unprecedented moment of momentum — both personally and professionally.
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In the last 15 months, Ionescu got married to her longtime partner, Hroniss Grasu. She attended runway shows at Paris Fashion Week and went to the Met Gala in a custom Sergio Hudson jacket and skirt. Last month, she brought the Liberty back to her alma mater for a sold-out preseason game. After New York's victory, even the Japanese team players the Liberty defeated in the exhibition wanted her to sign their red Sabrina 2 Nike sneakers.
She won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in Paris last summer. A few months later, Ionescu hit what she called the 'biggest shot of my career' in Game 3 of the finals against the Minnesota Lynx. Her 28-foot game-winning 3-pointer was the culmination of a life of hard work.
Her offseason also included a multicountry Nike Asia tour as a brand ambassador and a cameo in a Super Bowl commercial. A few weeks ago, her name was the answer to a $1,000 clue on Jeopardy!
Yet Ionescu, 27, still cringes at the idea of being called famous. 'I would never say that about myself,' Ionescu said. 'I can't even say it.'
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Her family's collective journey informs how Ionescu conducts herself. How she processes the highs and the lows. How she moves through the world, and all that comes at her.
'That is the American dream,' she said. 'That's been the beautiful part of being able to have this platform now. It's why I'm never losing sight of why I'm doing what I'm doing.'
Ionescu's parents, Dan and Liliana, taught Ionescu and her siblings resilience through their own travels to the U.S.
They grew up in Romania under Nicolae Ceaușescu's totalitarian communist regime. Gas stoves were sometimes shut off without warning, bread was rationed, and electricity outages were frequent. In 1989, a revolution eventually resulted in the overthrow and killing of Ceaușescu, and the end of communist control of the country.
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Dan Ionescu, who had been a driving instructor, headed for the U.S., seeking stability with extended family in northern California. He arrived via a visa lottery, but Sabrina's mother, Liliana, and their then-2-year-old son, Andrei, had to stay behind.
What was supposed to be six months became more than five years. Dan didn't speak English. He drove a cab and eventually started his own limousine company as he learned the language. In 1995, after obtaining their visas, Liliana and Andrei arrived. Two years later, Sabrina and Eddy were born — the older sister arriving just 18 minutes earlier.
Liliana worked a few jobs, including as a barista at Nordstrom, that didn't require her to speak much, if any, English. Her and Dan's memories of Romania often come out in short spurts, in quick facts and asides to their children.
'They don't shy away from keeping us levelheaded and grounded in everything that we're doing here,' Ionescu said. 'It's always a pinch-me moment any time we're able to experience things now because we never really forget where we came from.'
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Ionescu learned English at school but still primarily speaks Romanian with her family. She enjoys traditional foods like Romanian stuffed cabbage and beef salad around holidays. Grasu, who is also of Romanian descent, said shared heritage is why their families connect so well.
In March, Ionescu embarked on a weeklong tour through Manila, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou, China. Even there, she thought about her family's story.
'I grew up in a household kinda similar to what (many of the children I visited) have, and I was able to come here and work my way to the top and play in the WNBA,' she said. 'I think that's really resonating a lot with the kids as well.'
She showed up at refurbished courts and hosted youth clinics. In Manila and in Guangzhou, she arrived at schools, only to be greeted by kids crying at the mere sight of her. Her fan base is global — she has the third-most Instagram followers among any WNBA player — and opportunities for intimate meet-and-greets with American professional athletes are rare. She was treated to constant hugs. 'It was like Christmas Day times 1,000 for these kids,' Grasu said.
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Ionescu was Nike basketball's first women's signature athlete to tour with stops in China and the Philippines. She made sure every child received a notebook, shoes or other giveaways. 'When she left, I would still see kids in tears of joy,' Grasu said.
Ionescu would sometimes tell her van driver to stop, so she could greet the mobs of fans lining the streets that had been blocked off as she passed.
'It's truly who she is and how she's wired. It does come from that immigrant background,' Grasu said. At one point, he said she told him: 'I just kind of feel if I was a kid in their shoes and a big-time basketball player came and if they didn't give me any attention or time, I'd be disappointed.'
'To see that light being brought into other kids is something that continues to push her to reach different heights,' her brother Eddy said.
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As the Liberty celebrated their first title in franchise history last October, Ionescu experienced the bliss of winning. She hugged her husband on the court and thought about her journey. Not only of dealing with multiple injuries early in her professional career while being the face of a franchise or having her last shot at a college title erased because of pandemic cancellations, but also about the sacrifices her family made.
Then, her offseason, which included few breaks, began. She found motivation and sanctity in the gym. With a championship repeat on her mind, she worked on becoming a better three-level scorer, improved screener and her ability to leverage mismatches. 'To not say we did it once, and never do it again,' she said.
When gameplay resumed, her evolved repertoire was not all that was on display. During warmups before both of New York's preseason games, Romanian music like 'Opa Opa' and 'Luna Luna' played on arena loudspeakers. Like she did at her wedding, she taught her teammates a traditional Romanian dance. And that Jeopardy! clue?
'This star of Romanian heritage hit from near the center court logo to put the New York Liberty up a game in the 2024 WNBA Finals.'
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The answer: Who is Sabrina Ionescu?
She's a long way from working the middle school lunch line yet very much in touch with her family's roots.
'It's played a huge part in who I am, in understanding the footprint I want to leave,' Ionescu said.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
New York Liberty, WNBA, Culture
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