How Sabrina Ionescu Sees the Game
- June 24, 2024
If there was ever a moment that showed Sabrina Ionescu’s ability to see the game differently than the rest of the world, it was on November 9, 2019, when her Oregon Ducks played an exhibition game against the greatest dynasty in sport: The USA Women’s National team. The night before the game, Ionescu texted her teammates. We have nothing to lose, she encouraged them. Go out and play our way. Don’t let another team come to our home floor and dictate our system. This was in response to an opponent that hadn’t lost to a college team in 20 years, longer than some of Sabrina’s teammates had been alive.
But where other players saw crushing odds, Sabrina saw opportunity. She would lead her team to an improbable victory, 93-86, posting a 30-7-4 statline. Defeating a global powerhouse. Securing college basketball’s triple-double crown. Becoming a No.1 draft pick in the WNBA. Helping lead the New York Liberty to its first Finals appearance in over two decades. Every time Ionescu sees an obstacle, she sees right past it.
Ionescu’s ability to process the game at an elite level results from a lifetime of dedication to her craft. For her, perfection is found in the smallest of details: the angle of the foot during a jab step, the arc of a stepback jumper, the spin on a crosscourt bounce pass to a teammate. To see what she sees, we asked Sabrina to share about her focus and determination and her pursuit of excellence.
Craft is a lot bigger than what’s seen in a stat sheet or on the scoreboard. It’s about mastering a process, not necessarily just one aspect of a game, or one technique. When you master a process for how you see improvement — maybe its scoring, maybe its facilitating for your teammates, maybe it’s doing the little things — you end up encompassing everything on the court.
Mentally, practice is sometimes more exhausting than a game. In practice, I try to put myself in specific moments and situations over and over again. Whether it’s where a defender would be or a buzzer-beater shot, I'm always using my imagination to create situations when I'll be under pressure. And that takes a lot of work. But if I’ve put in the mental preparation, the work in practice actually sets me free during games, because I’ve already lived that moment in my head.
The offseason is the time to work on those aspects of your game that you want to elevate. I’ve worked a lot out of one-on-one situations lately. I know I’m a great passer, but I think finding ways to create space on my own and not needing a screen or needing my teammates to get me open is a next step for my game. I’ve also focused on being able to attack downhill and make decisions and finish around the rim.
"I became a better leader when I realized that some people are more competitive than others and have different desires."
Competitiveness has always been one of my superpowers. I’ve always been a competitive and intense kid. I used to fight with my brothers all the time during games growing up. The older I’ve gotten, the better I’ve been able to harness my desire to win and use it for my advantage.
Not everyone has the same driving force for success. I became a better leader when I realized that some people are more competitive than others and have different desires. For me, that realization hit in middle school. I saw that some of my teammates were just playing for fun, or to see if they liked the game. But I knew I still had to relate to them for our team to be the best it could be. And that meant knowing that not everyone is motivated the same way I am. I had to learn to accept that. Now, I’m on a team that demands excellence from one another, and we hold each other accountable. Everyone in my circle is aligned to the same goals I have. Second place isn’t an option.
In college, I loved being able to help put a program on the map. I had the opportunity to go anywhere in the country I wanted coming out of high school, but I wanted to go to a program that wasn’t as established yet, because I knew the reward would be greater. We sold out almost every game my senior season, and we were competing for a national championship.
The coaches who know you the best are often able to push you the hardest. I had the same coach from fourth grade to my senior year of high school. He coached me harder than I think he ever coached anybody else. If my jersey wasn't tucked right, if my socks were different heights, if my shoelaces were tied differently, I was running laps. He would act like I was putting myself above the team, but he was really showing me how I needed to act as a leader and how I need to be pushed. The higher up you want to go, the higher up you want to be, the higher the expectations.
The Sabrina 2 shoe and collection is infused with personal design cues, and the shoe and select apparel is available in kids' sizes for the first time. Photo credit: productionglue
I’d tell my younger self to have a kind of tunnel vision for her process. What that means to me is to focus on your own journey, rather than allow someone else to tell you what you can or can’t be. While I think I did a good job of that, but when I was drafted first overall and turned pro, I could feel a different pressure to speed up the process and succeed. I wish I would’ve reminded myself more to keep my tunnel vision, no matter what.
As a player, you remember the people who saw the potential that was within you. I don’t just want to prove people wrong who doubted me. I want to prove people right who believed in me.