Sabrina Ionescu on lessons from Kobe Bryant, Brittney Griner’s heartbreak and her Olympic debut

“We’re at a point in society today where women are finally having a voice, and the more we continue to fight for that, the more it’s going to show up in the sports world,” the New York Liberty guard said. Sabrina Ionescu, 2020 WNBA No. 1 pick, three-time All-Star, and current U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team member. “The growth of the WNBA over the past five years has been tremendous; this year’s rookie—Reese’s Angel, Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink—entered the league in the highest numbers of all time. And they helped make the league more popular by attracting their college fans. People are starting to see that, if you invest in women at a young age, you can see that it’s a good product.”

Here, Ionescu talks to Lisa Robinson on the WNBA’s fight for social justice and women’s rights, her competitive spirit, the three-point contest with Steph Curry, her friendship with Kobe Bryant, and as a child being told not to play sports with boys and to “play with dolls” instead.

Lisa Robinson: You got married last March. [to Las Vegas Raiders center Hroniss Grasu]; you’re basically a newlywed. How do you balance your personal life with the WNBA season?

Sabrina Ionescu: It has been a part of our relationship since we started dating in our senior year of college. [the University of Oregon]so that’s something we’re used to. the fact that he plays soccer helps a little bit; since our seasons don’t overlap 100%, he can watch my games too. it’s nice to have that perspective of being married to another athlete. it helps me stay calm.

Before all the current Caitlin Clark noise, you were a great college player and a first-round pick in the WNBA. Do you think the W’s rise had more to do with stars like you and A’Ja Wilson; Kobe Bryant’s interest in women’s and girls’ basketball; the horrifying photos of women’s accommodations in the pandemic bubble versus men’s; Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia; or all of the above?

The growth has been huge. I think TV ratings were up 42% last year compared to the year before, and that was before a lot of these new players came into the league. It took a long time to get there because a lot of great players laid the groundwork for us to get to where we are today. Visibility, audience, and TV exposure all play a huge role in driving interest in the women’s game. It’s a movement: We saw it in women’s soccer, and now we’re seeing it in basketball. People are starting to see how exciting our game is, and finally women are—maybe we don’t have a seat at the table, but we have a voice in the sports world.

Yes, women can thrive in sports or business, but men still tell us what we can do with our bodies.

It’s something we all talk about as a league and as a team. It’s horrible to me that 4 out of 12 teams in the W don’t have that. [women’s reproductive] rights in their state. As a union and a federation, we continue to try to use our voices and resources to fight for what is right. It’s hard because there are so many opinions and perspectives, but at the end of the day, I believe we are at the forefront of change. When we come together and use our voices, we see change in specific communities. Especially with the election coming up, we’re going to have to figure out how to amplify our voices—to be heard and to see the change we want to see.

Although the WNBA is racially integrated, I have heard some players say that there are issues and conflicts between black and white players, and between straight and heterosexual players. Do you find that to be true?

I’ve never seen it or been a part of it. What I’ve always tried to push for is to see people succeed. I want to lift people up, and the hard part is, society puts people down, and social media sucks. I never want to be the one to put anyone down. I had a season-ending injury in 2020 and couldn’t get into the bubble, but to see the W at the forefront of so many protests and changes [following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor]—we are not afraid of consequences. We are ahead of the NBA and the NFL.

Everyone is in front of the NFL.

Yeah, but we stood up for what we believed in, and I think that says a lot about the power that women have. To be able to not care—we just be ourselves and not care what other people say.

You grew up idolizing certain women that you got to play with. You played with Sue Bird; you played with Diana Taurasi. [and are now on the USA Olympic team with her]; Becky Hammon is coaching your team. How is that?

It took a little bit of adjustment because I was a little bit shocked when I first stepped on the court and played with Diana. It took a little bit of time because I was injured the first year, so it took me time to really share the court with her.