New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu is one of the WNBA stars competing in the all-new Unrivaled League not long after her off-season surgery. After the Liberty's WNBA Finals win against the Minnesota Lynx, Ionescu had surgery in December to repair a torn UCL in her right thumb. However, per ESPN's Kendra Andrews, she was cleared to play in the new upstart league co-founded by fellow Liberty star Breanna Stewart.
“[My recovery] has been a little sped up,” Ionescu said after an Unrivaled practice on Thursday. “If I didn't have this going on, I probably could have taken a little bit more time just rehabbing, letting it heal. But I'm fully cleared by the doctors to be able to play and continue to do my rehab while I'm out here and get live reps.”
Per Andrews, Ionescu is shocked that she's been able to rehab so quickly and get back to play.
“Knowing I had surgery…now back on the court…if you told me that 5 weeks ago I would have said you were crazy.”
But, she worked to get and stay in playing shape. Per Andrews, the former number one pick has been working since a week after the WNBA Finals victory. Ionescu had a rough Game 5 of the WNBA Finals. She only had five points, shooting 1-19 in the game and only 1-10 from three-point range.
But, the surgery and training clearly caused Sabrina Ionescu to round back into form. Despite the Phantom losing to the Laces into day two of Unrivaled, Ionescu had 18 points and five three-pointers. She ultimately led her team in scoring in the losing effort. Her high levels of play is an encouraging sign, as Ionescu looks to balance playing in Unrivaled with other commitments throughout the eight-week schedule.
“I'm not going to be here the full time,” Ionescu said per ESPN's Kendra Andrews. “They've been very accommodating knowing that I have obligations I have to be at, being able to work through that with them and knowing I want to be here, fully committed to my teammates and this team.”