Sabrina Ionescu Bio
Sabrina Elaine Ionescu is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest three-point shooters in WNBA history, she plays the point guard position and wears jersey number 20. Ionescu is credited with helping grow the popularity of women’s basketball through her play, her signature Nike shoe line, and her global profile. Off the court, she is among the highest-paid women’s basketball players in the world and a part-owner of Bay FC in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Early Life and Background
Sabrina Elaine Ionescu was born on December 6, 1997, in Walnut Creek, California, to Romanian-American parents. Her father, Dan Ionescu, escaped communist Romania around the time of the 1989 revolution and came to the United States seeking political asylum. He was eventually joined by his wife, Liliana Blaj, and their son Andrei in 1995, and he built a life in Northern California running a limousine service. Sabrina grew up in a Romanian-speaking household and has a twin brother, Edward, known as Eddy, who was born 18 minutes after her and later played basketball at Oregon.
Ionescu first picked up a basketball at around three years old. She attended a middle school that did not have enough players to field a girls’ team and refused to let her play on the boys’ team, with administrators telling her she should be playing with dolls. She responded by recruiting enough girls to start a team. Playing with boys and older girls during her childhood forced her to develop her passing, rebounding, and court vision, and she has described herself as a natural scorer.
Path to Basketball
Ionescu attended Miramonte High School in Orinda, California, where she was a four-year varsity letter winner under head coach Kelly Sopak. She finished her high school career with a 119-9 record, a school-record 2,606 points, and school records in assists, steals, and triple-doubles. As a senior, she was named a McDonald’s All-American and the McDonald’s All-America game MVP after scoring a record 25 points, and she was also named the USA Today Girls Basketball Player of the Year, MaxPreps National Player of the Year, and California Miss Basketball.
Ranked as the number one point guard in the recruiting class of 2016, Ionescu chose Oregon because she wanted to be the all-American at Oregon, not just an all-American somewhere else. She committed to the Ducks just before the summer 2016 term began, driving with her father for eight hours from their Bay Area home to Eugene.
Sabrina Ionescu Career
Early Career (2016-2018)
Ionescu made her collegiate debut on November 13, 2016, recording 11 points in a win over Lamar. As a freshman, she averaged 14.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game, earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors, and was named USBWA National Freshman of the Year. In her sophomore season, she led the Pac-12 in scoring at 19.2 points per game and averaged 7.8 assists, won her first Pac-12 Player of the Year award, and helped Oregon win its first Pac-12 championship since 2000.
She became the NCAA women’s all-time leader in triple-doubles during her sophomore year and won the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top Division I women’s point guard. Her rapid rise established her as one of the most exciting young players in college basketball.
Oregon Breakthrough (2018-2020)
As a junior in 2018-19, Ionescu broke the NCAA all-time triple-double record for both men’s and women’s basketball with her 13th triple-double against Air Force, finishing the season with 18 triple-doubles. She led Oregon to its first Final Four appearance after an 88-84 victory over Mississippi State in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, scoring 31 points in the win. She won the John R. Wooden Award and the Wade Trophy as the best women’s college basketball player in Division I.
During her senior season in 2019-20, Ionescu became the first NCAA player ever to record 2,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds in a career, and she set the Pac-12 all-time assists record. She swept the major national player of the year awards, including the AP Player of the Year, the Honda Sports Award, the Naismith College Player of the Year, the USBWA Player of the Year, the John R. Wooden Award, and the Wade Trophy, and she received the James E. Sullivan Award. Her senior season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
New York Liberty Era (2020-Present)
The New York Liberty selected Ionescu with the first overall pick in the 2020 WNBA draft. In her second professional game, she recorded 33 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds, but a grade 3 ankle sprain in her third game ended her rookie season. She returned in 2021 and recorded her first professional triple-double in only her sixth career game, becoming the fastest player in WNBA history to reach that milestone. In 2022, she recorded the first 30-point triple-double in WNBA history with 31 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.
In 2023, Ionescu broke the WNBA single-season three-point record and set a new WNBA Three-Point Contest record with 37 points, later winning the Three-Point Shootout again in 2025. She and the Liberty advanced to the WNBA Finals in both 2023 and 2024, falling to the Las Vegas Aces in 2023 before defeating the Minnesota Lynx in 2024 to deliver the Liberty their first league championship. She is a four-time WNBA All-Star and four-time All-WNBA Second Team selection.
Driving Style and Strengths
Ionescu is a pass-first point guard with deep three-point range and elite court vision, and she is widely considered one of the greatest three-point shooters in WNBA history. Her ability to rebound from the guard position sets her apart, and her playmaking allows teammates to thrive. She pairs her offensive skill set with the toughness of a player who grew up competing against boys, and she has built a strong partnership with the Liberty coaching staff centered on pace and space.
Notable Events and Milestones
Ionescu’s most defining moment came in the 2024 WNBA Finals, when she hit a game-winning three-pointer in Game 3 against the Minnesota Lynx and helped the Liberty clinch their first-ever championship in Game 5. She was a featured speaker at the Kobe & Gianna Bryant Celebration of Life in February 2020 and has spoken publicly about the influence Kobe Bryant had on her career. In 2024, she competed against Stephen Curry in the first NBA vs. WNBA three-point contest at NBA All-Star Weekend.
Sabrina Ionescu Career Wins
Sabrina Ionescu has built a championship résumé across high school, college, the WNBA, and international play. She helped lead Miramonte High School to a CIF Open Division runner-up finish, won a WNBA title in 2024, and has earned gold medals with the United States national team.
WNBA Highlights
Ionescu’s WNBA trophy case includes a 2024 WNBA championship, four WNBA All-Star selections from 2022 through 2025, two WNBA Three-Point Shootout championships in 2023 and 2025, the 2022 WNBA Skills Challenge title, and the 2023 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship. She has been named to the All-WNBA Second Team four times and holds the WNBA single-season three-point record.
Other Wins and Performances
At the college level, Ionescu won two NCAA championships of her own with the John R. Wooden Award and two Wade Trophies, plus three Pac-12 Player of the Year awards and three Nancy Lieberman Awards. Internationally, she won gold with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2022 FIBA World Cup, and she won a 3×3 national title and the 2019 Pan American Games 3×3 event with her Oregon teammates.
Sabrina Ionescu Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Sabrina Ionescu was raised in a close-knit Romanian-American family in Northern California. Her father, Dan Ionescu, is a Romanian immigrant who built a limousine business in the region, and her mother, Liliana Blaj, also emigrated from Romania. She has an older brother, Andrei, and a twin brother, Edward, who walked on to the Oregon men’s basketball team during the 2019-20 season. The family spoke Romanian at home and maintained close ties to the wider Romanian community in the Bay Area.
Personal Life
Ionescu is a Romanian Orthodox Christian. On March 10, 2024, she married NFL center and former University of Oregon football player Hroniss Grasu, who is also Romanian-American. The couple married in 2024 and have been described as close friends with former Oregon teammate Ruthy Hebard. Ionescu has remained active in the Bay Area, including through her SI20 Foundation and her work as Oregon’s director of athletic culture.
2025 Season Performance
Sabrina Ionescu entered the 2025 WNBA season as a defending champion with the New York Liberty and a four-time WNBA All-Star. She continued to be a central figure in the Liberty’s rotation, providing deep three-point shooting, secondary playmaking, and tough on-ball defense at the point guard position. Her leadership and experience were central to the Liberty’s push to defend their 2024 title.
Off the floor, Ionescu was announced as a member of Phantom BC for the 2025 Unrivaled season, signing a landmark deal that elevated her status in the women’s 3-on-3 league. She also continued to grow her Nike signature shoe line and her SI20 Foundation. Her combination of on-court production and off-court impact kept her among the most visible stars in women’s basketball entering 2025.
