Sabrina Ionescu Building Her Business Off The Court By Learning From The Best

Sabrina Ionescu (20) set the WNBA single-season 3-point record this year.

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Sabrina Ionescu has no problem waiting, observing, listening and learning.

In middle school, she’d have her sneakers handy as she watched her brother Eddy play basketball on the boys team, not only because there was no girls team, but because she’d wait for her name to be called to occasionally join the game.

She’d listen to words of wisdom about life on and off the court from an all-star roster of mentors and friends including the late Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Steph Curry, Becky Hammon and Kevin Durant.

Yet while Ionescu is still one of the youngest players on the New York Liberty at 25 years old, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2020 WNBA Draft isn’t just letting her game talk for her, but she’s speaking volumes off the court as well.

“It’s just staying true to myself, not getting wrapped up in expectations—particularly outside expectations—but just doing what makes me happy and these things, especially the foundation and camps and things I can do to give back make me really happy,” Ionescu said. “That’s what’s important and it’s not letting outside noise or outside expectation or people’s opinions of me affect what I’m going to do and who I’m going to be.

“For me, it’s really just been staying true to myself and what I want to do. Obviously I have a great team around me that keeps me level headed and supports me through all of the highs and lows as well.”

On the court, Ionescu averages 17.0 points per game, leads the WNBA with a single-season record 128 3-pointers made—her 44.8 3-point percentage is third-best among players with 50+ attempts—and is seventh with 5.4 assists per game for the New York Liberty, who boast the league’s second-best record at 32-8.

Off the court, Ionescu recently launched her first signature shoe and apparel collection with Nike—the Sabrina 1—becoming the first women’s basketball player to deliver a unisex signature collection with the iconic brand.

Featuring full-length Nike React cushioning and a top-loaded Nike Zoom Air unit in the forefoot, the Sabrina 1 also tells a story of Ionescu’s heritage by paying homage to traditional Romanian art and architecture through intricate embroidery patterns on the forefoot and eye-stays. A dotted “i” on the heels pays respect to her last name, a vertically slanted Swoosh represents the barriers she’s broken throughout her career, and a hidden “Anyone, Anywhere” quote highlights her competitive spirit she shares with others.

“Their partnership has been a dream come true—everything I could have possibly imagined and more,” Ionescu said. “From when I got drafted in 2020 to now, just their vision for me and for women’s sports has far exceeded my expectations and just seeing how they’ve been able to really advocate for what they believe in. When I got the call to be a signature athlete I was looking forward to just continuing to push the needle in wanting to create equality.

“My main goal was wanting a unisex shoe to give opportunity for girls, boys, anyone to wear the shoe. I was excited to continue to break down barriers and wanted to do that with them, who also believe in that as well.”

Sabrina Ionescu is the first women’s basketball player to deliver a unisex signature collection with … [+] Nike.

Courtesy of Nike

Ionescu said she wanted to be “part of every single conversation every single step of the way” during the process and admitted she did her best to be a sponge and soak up everything she could while creating her first signature shoe and apparel collection with Nike.

Hardly just a bystander, Ionescu’s maturity, confidence and inquisitive mind during the development process caught the attention of Nike Basketball senior footwear designer Benjamin Nethongkome, who was impressed by her level of involvement, saying, “Usually more seasoned athletes would make those kinds of requests or have that kind of awareness.”

Ionescu’s awareness isn’t just visible on the court as her 5.4 assists per game rank No. 7 in the WNBA this season, but she watches as athletes like Curry and Durant continue to not only build their brand off the court from a business and entrepreneurial perspective, but more importantly, leverage their success and platform to make a difference in their communities through the Eat.Learn.Play. Foundation and Durant Family Foundation, respectively.

Inspired by her mentors and friends while wanting to play a larger part in her own community, Ionescu launched the SI20 Foundation to “equip youth from all backgrounds and skill levels with equitable access to sports to create genuine connections and build stronger communities for life.”

The foundation hosted its inaugural event in partnership with DREAM Charter School on September 9 in New York City with a basketball clinic for 75 middle school students who were not only able to train with Ionescu, but competed against her in a game of knockout before a Q&A session.

“It was super important to me in just wanting to extend my footprint here in New York,” she said. “Having played here now for two seasons—the first was in the bubble—it’s just nice to see the fan base and how much they’ve given me and supported me and understanding that I do have a platform, especially in the communities that have meant so much.

“I play here and want to give back and just be the best I can obviously on the court but off the court as well.”

Ionescu, who is on the cover of this year’s NBA 2K24 WNBA edition, is certainly well on her way to achieving both. She has endorsements with Body Armor, Nike, State Farm and Xbox, and serves as an ambassador for Durant’s media company Boardroom and as a strategic partner with his Thirty Five Ventures. Named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in 2023, Ionescu also has investments in Buzzer Media and Nex.

While the launch of the Sabrina 1 and SI20 Foundation have taken up the bulk of her time off the court lately, Ionescu has one thing on her mind as the WNBA Playoffs begin on September 13. The No. 2-seed Liberty host the Washington Mystics (19-21) on Friday at Barclays Center to start their best-of-three series.

“On the court, winning has been top of mind so that’s where all of my focus has been entering the playoffs and just wanting to peak at the right time and be the best I can be, especially when it’s ‘go time,’” she said. “That’s really been my focus as of now and I’m excited to get started.”