After getting drafted by New York Liberty in the recently concluded 2020 WNBA Draft, former Oregon Ducks star guard Sabrina Ionescu sent a touching tribute to the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
Right after Liberty picked her with the No.1 overall pick, Ionescu took it to her Instagram Stories to pay tribute to the Lakers icon. She posted a photo of her and Kobe laughing at each other during a practice.
“I know you're looking down on me smiling. We did it. I got drafted #1. More work to do. Love and miss you,” Sabrina Ionescu wrote in the caption of the photo along with prayer and heart emojis.
Sabrina developed a close relationship with Kobe and his daughter Gianna Bryant, who had a deep love and affinity for the women's game. In fact, she once helped Bryant coach Gigi's basketball team.
Unfortunately, Kobe, Gigi and seven others passed away last January after the helicopter they were riding crashed in Calabasa, California.
During the memorial held for Kobe, Gigi and the crash victims last February, Ionescu delivered an emotional and heartfelt speech about her friendship with the former Lakers guard and his daughter.
“If I represented the women's game, Gigi was the future, and Kobe knew it,” Ionescu said during the memorial, per ESPN. “So we decided to build a future together. …
“She always wanted to learn and to go to every game she could — college, NBA, WNBA. Kobe was helping her with that because he saw it in her. Just like he saw it in me. His vision for others is always bigger than that for themselves. His vision for me was way bigger than my own. More importantly, he didn't just show up in my life and leave — he stayed.”
Ionescu was one of the most highly touted prospects in WNBA history, thanks in large part to her historic play at Oregon. Known as a triple-double machine with 26 of such stats, the Ducks standout is an accomplished college basketball superstar who holds the distinction as the only NCAA Division I player (man or woman) to have 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds.
Now that she is in the WNBA, Sabrina will undoubtedly aim to continue Kobe's legacy and become the best example for everyone dreaming to be in the highest level of the sport.
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