Q&A: Sabrina Ionescu is 'all for' a permanent 4-point shot in the WNBA
A CHAMP ONCE AGAIN 🏆
Sabrina Ionescu takes home the 2nd @starrylemonlime 3-Point Contest title of her career! #WNBAAllStar2025 pic.twitter.com/5ZLDUw7iPr
Like many All-Stars, Ionescu made the rounds during All-Star Weekend, which included an appearance at 'AT&T All-Star Access' at WNBA Live on Saturday where she did interview(s) and met with fans.
July 19 - Sabrina Ionescu is interviewed at WNBA Live's 'AT&T All-Star Access' during the 2025 All-Star Weekend.
Courtesy of: AT&T
Sabrina Ionescu's interview with NBC Sports was lightly edited for length and clarity.
Sabrina Ionescu Q&A at WNBA Live's 'AT&T All-Star Access'
You're here with AT&T. What are you doing today?
Sabrina Ionescu: Just connecting with fans. Really excited to be here with AT&T for All-Star Weekend and just being able to be here around the fans in this amazing space and kind of be able to be a role model, sign autographs, take pictures. So, I'm just really excited to be here.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JULY 19: Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty takes picture with a fan at at 'AT&T's All-Star Access' at WNBA Live. (Photo courtesy of: AT&T)
Courtesy of AT&T
AT&T is also the sponsor of the 4-pointer [for the 2025 All-Star Game]. Very cool that money will be donated to charities of players' choices for each 4-pointer made [in the game]. Thoughts on that?
AT&T 4-Point Shot:
• Four circles – two at each end of the court – will be placed above the current three-point line at a distance of 28 feet from the rim.
• Each circle shall be designated as the AT&T 4-PT Shot area.
Courtesy of: A&T
Sabrina Ionescu: Yeah. I'm super excited, obviously. Hopefully, can make a few and be able to donate to my [SI20] Foundation that's just able to continue to give back to communities that mean a lot to me and impact children. So, I'm really excited for that opportunity as well.
July 19 - Sabrina Ionescu attends 'AT&T All-Star Access' at WNBA Live during the 2025 All-Star Weekend.
Do you think the WNBA should implement a permanent 4-point line?
Sabrina Ionescu: I'm always all for it. I've said that from the beginning if that was to be a rule change, I would love for that to happen. I just think everyone's shooting so well from the three-point line, and I feel like we could continue to add different elements that would change the game of basketball. So, I mean, personally, I would love it, but I'm fine with where it's at right now as well.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 19: Sabrina Ionescu #20 of Team Clark smiles during the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game 2025 on July 19, 2025 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by A.J. Mast/NBAE via Getty Images)
A.J. Mast/NBAE via Getty Images
If you were [going to] play a game of HORSE, tell me three tricks in your bag that you would put in a game that you think would guarantee you the win.
Sabrina Ionescu: I always go lefty. Like, that's kind of my trick HORSE shot. I don't have great trick shots because I don't really try and practice them too much, but going lefty always usually guarantees me wins. Like, whether it's free throw shot lefty, a three-pointer, then obviously sometimes to finish...a half court shot righty, but a lefty always will sneak me in a few letters to win.
The Sabrina 3, you announced that it was being released. So, you have the All-Star version that came out and then, you also have the 'Blueprint' that's coming out [July 24]. How involved are you still, considering that it's the third iteration, in the design process?
Sabrina Ionescu: Just as involved as I was in the first one from when we started. Just being able to...tell the story that I want to tell from my shoe, see it evolve, understand what consumers need. Obviously, not really settling. Just strive to try and come out with the best performance shoe. And now we're on the third one, and I'm really excited for the world to be able to see it.
What are your three favorite colorways? Any iteration and why?
Sabrina Ionescu: I would say the Sabrina 2 'Lily' because I won a championship in those. Game 5. They're [named] after my mom. My mom's name is Lily, and they have flowers on them. So, that would have to be one. Probably launch colorway of the Sabrina 1 just because that was like the first time. And then, launch colorway of the 3, I would have to say. The 'Blueprint colorway'. The blueprint of being an athlete.
Had the opportunity to chat w/ Sabrina Ionescu during All-Star Weekend at AT&T's All-Star Access at WNBA Live!
Among other things, we talked the Sabrina 3 Blueprint & where it ranks for her as a colorway. More on that later! But a reminder, they drop July 24! (via @sabrina_i/IG) pic.twitter.com/iIHbm9Rfqw
I know you're a big tennis fan. With the US Open, coming next month, who are you looking forward to seeing?
Sabrina Ionescu: Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz. I'm super excited to be able to go. Hopefully, our schedule permits and I'm able to watch a few matches.
If you didn't play basketball, is tennis a sport you would've played?
Sabrina Ionescu: Absolutely. If I could. If I was good enough [laughter].
I think you're probably being hard on yourself.
Sabrina Ionescu: Maybe.
If you had the chance to partner with a pro tennis player in a game doubles, who would you want to partner with?
Sabrina Ionescu: Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu.
Why?
Sabrina Ionescu: Well one, I'm a huge Carlos fan, so that would have to be it. And then, Emma is actually part Romanian and so, I think that's pretty cool. I mean, obviously, my parents are both Romanian as well. So, I think it just makes her a great story.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
29 minutes ago
- USA Today
Why Terry Francona's teams get better in second half. Can Reds follow trend?
A few nights ago, during a pitching change in a game the Cincinnati Reds were losing, with manager Terry Francona trying to coax a much-needed comeback win, star shortstop Elly De La Cruz chose to get playful and snatch the glasses off Francona's face. De La Cruz put them on his own face, then mocked a grimace, laughed and took them off. The bemused look on Francona's face suggested it wasn't the tone he expected in the moment. Maybe not the time for goofing off? Francona took the glasses back and allowed a laugh with De La Cruz at the shortstop's reaction, then put them back on and got back to work. 'I know we're losing out there, but they're playing their ass off,' Francona said. 'I don't ever want to just be their buddies when we're winning. That doesn't work. '(Carlos) Santana used to always do that with me on the mound (in Cleveland),' Francona added. 'He probably (expletive) told Elly. He'd always pull my socks down. Like, 'Dammit, Carlos.' ' One of Francona's great strengths as a manager through a career that has led to more than 2,000 wins and has him headed to the Hall of Fame has been an uncommon level of personal trust, connection and (in turn) accountability he builds with players. Moments like these can trust any manager trying to do his job, win games, run a tight ship, hold players accountable. Baseball managers have snapped on a player for less. That Francona is able to walk the fine line that lets Elly be Elly in that moment, whatever his own sensibilities might suggest is appropriate, might speak to the success he has had with players of all ages, stature and personalities in his career. This wasn't Trevor Bauer throwing the ball over the center-field wall when Francona took him out of a game in 2019 and getting traded from Cleveland to Cincinnati three days later. 'It's OK. They're trying their asses off,' Francona said. 'We're not gonna win every night. And there's some nights where things don't go (well). But I don't want to be just patting them on the back when (it's going good) — they're actually great kids.' Francona has had barely five months since the start of spring training to get to know his new group of ballplayers. And as they opened the toughest remaining schedule in the majors over the weekend with the start of a three-series homestand, against the Tampa Bay Rays, it's the relationships with those players he'll lean on to try to replicate perhaps his most impressive career accomplishment. Francona's teams almost always perform better after the All-Star break. Often significantly better. And that's especially true in his first year with a new team in three previous managerial stops. 'That's not surprising,' said veteran catcher Jose Trevino, who's in his first year with the Reds after a trade from the Yankees. 'There's calmness but with a sense of urgency,' Trevino said. 'A sense of urgency to play the game right. A sense of urgency to do things right. But the calmness comes in the craziest times, when there's runners on, there's bases loaded, we need a hit, or need somebody to get out of a jam. 'You can look over in that dugout and see just that calm presence.' Whether that level of calm feeds a growth arc of performance over the course of a six-month, 162-game season, or whether it's the more tangible levers Francona tends to pull as he decides what his roster can do and starts managing with more urgency down the stretch, it has worked. In his last stop, in Cleveland, Francona took over a last-place team, went 51-44 (.537) before the All-Star break, then went 41-26 out of the break to reach the playoffs — 90 percentage points better in the second half. Even when he inherited a loaded Boston Red Sox team in 2004, that team was 48-38 (.558) in the first half and 50-26 out of the break — a 100-point difference in winning percentage. That team of personalities as divergent as they were big called themselves 'idiots' all the way to a World Series championship, as Francona let his stars play and their personalities flow. The secret to all that second-half growth with his new teams? 'I don't know,' Francona said. 'If I knew, we'd play better in the first half.' If he pulls it off again this year, it might even be more impressive than either of those two. Forty of the Reds' final 60 games were against teams with winning records, including the defending-champ Dodgers in town this week. Actually, he may never pull off what his first Phillies team did in his first year as a big league manager in 1997. That team won barely 28 percent of its games in the first half: 24-61. 'They were running a daily (update on) if we were going to have a worse record than the (1962) Mets,' Francona said, referring to the Mets' all-time record for losses in a season that the White Sox broke last year. 'Every day. 'That's always fun.' That same, awful first-half team went 44-33 after the All-Star break — for a stunning jump of nearly 300 points in winning percentage. 'You're always trying to build,' Francona said. 'Tthere's some years where some guys get hurt so much and then you just can't play as well as you want, or win as much as you want. 'But you're always trying to build toward getting better,' he said. 'That's the object. I think as guys learn how you want to play the game, it's easier for them also.' That's what the players say. The expectations have been clear, the accountability consistent, the calm constant, the roles ingrained, the comfort growing. 'You go back to the first month of the season. We were kind of up down, still trying to see where we were,' Trevino said. 'And then all of a sudden we take off. But Tito's the same guy the whole time, telling us to trust ourselves and play the game hard, play the game fast and do what we do. 'We know what he's trying to tell us. There's a great understanding of what he wants from us,' Trevino added. 'It takes some time. It's just like anything." Just in the past week, he pulled the lever on trying Noelvi Marte in right field to create a way a get two of his more trusted right-handed bats in the lineup, with Santiago Espinal, and potentially get tighter fielding out of two positions (also third). Marte had never played in the outfield in his professional career. Three days later, Espinal played first base for the first time in his career. These aren't moves that would have been made in April. 'He's constantly setting guys up to succeed,' Trevino said. 'Constantly.' Whatever is next, the Reds seem ready for anything the manager might ask. That much trust seems to be there five months in. Whether it leads to another one of those second-half surges, they seem to be ready for that, too. 'He has that reputation of getting the best out of his players,' first baseman Spencer Steer said. 'He's had a couple meetings where we've been in a little bit of a rut or not playing well, and he says, 'This is when it gets fun. This is when it really gets fun. You see what you're made of. This is when it really matters about playing for the guy next to you and really caring about the ultimate goal of winning. When it gets tough, that really comes out.' 'That's kind of where we're at,' Steer said. 'We're not in the perfect spot by any means. But we've got life. And as long as we've got life, there's a chance.'
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Why Mookie Betts Won't Immediately Join Dodgers For Red Sox Series
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. BOSTON -- Mookie Betts has a storied history at Fenway Park, but the Red Sox didn't see him for the opener of a three-game set with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Betts was not present for Friday's matchup and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts provided clarity to his update from earlier this week that the All-Star would miss the opener with a personal matter. SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 08: Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the first inning against the San Diego Padres during Game Three of... SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 08: Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the first inning against the San Diego Padres during Game Three of the Division Series at Petco Park on October 08, 2024 in San Diego, California. More"He'll be back (Saturday) right around game time," Roberts said at Fenway Park. "He's trying to make sure he gets back as soon as he can. Not sure if he's going to be in the lineup, but he'll be here at some point." Roberts added that Betts was home in Nashville before he planned to join the team back at Fenway Park. Betts won his first World Series title in a year to remember for the Red Sox back in 2018, when Boston defeated the Dodgers in five games. He won American League MVP that season among a slew of individual accolades. In his first return to Fenway Park in 2023, Betts went 7-for-15 with a home run, four RBI and five runs scored in a strong weekend. Betts added two more titles with the Dodgers, though he's struggled at the plate this month with a .185 batting average and a .548 OPS. The Dodgers and Red Sox each held playoff spots entering the three-game set in Boston. More MLB: Red Sox Predicted To Land Pirates Starter As Deadline Festivities Begin
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Broncos roster: DL Matt Henningsen (No. 91) fighting for rotational role
Broncos Wire's 90-man offseason roster series continues today with a look at fourth-year defensive lineman Matt Henningsen, No. 91. Before the Broncos: Henningsen (6-3, 291 pounds) played college football at Wisconsin, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors as a senior in 2021. Following a redshirt freshman season, Henningsen spent five years with the Badgers, totaling 91 tackles (13 behind the line of scrimmage), eight sacks and three fumble recoveries (two returned for touchdowns). He played in 42 games with 29 starts during his time at Wisconsin. Broncos tenure: Henningsen's defensive presence impressed Denver Broncos coaches in the pre-draft process, which led to him being drafted in the sixth round (206th overall) of the 2022 NFL draft. In his rookie season, Henningsen played in 17 games, as primarily a rotational player, recording 1.0 sack and 21 combined tackles (eight solo, 13 assisted, two tackles for loss). In 2023, Henningsen once again played in all 17 regular season games, with two pass deflections and 19 total tackles (10 solo, nine assisted). In 2024, Henningsen was a practice squad player in Denver, not appearing in any games as an active player. Chances to make the 53-man roster: Practice squad or rotational backup player. Henningsen has been in the Broncos system for several years now, and will either be a rotational backup player in relief of John Franklin-Myers and Zach Allen. One of the players Henningsen will compete with for the backup role is Broncos third-round draft pick Sai'vion Jones. Related: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
