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Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty suffered another loss on Monday, as they got crushed by the Dallas Wings on the road via a 92-82 score. Late in that game, ESPN's Marc Spears shared an interesting detail about what Ionescu's dad, Dan, told him during the recent 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend.
“I talked to her dad during the WNBA All-Star weekend,” Spears said. “He said she's never coming back home. She's gonna play in New York her whole career.”
The 27-year-old Ionescu has never played for another team in the WNBA besides the Liberty, but there could be the temptation to go somewhere else in the offseason, notwithstanding what her father said. She doesn't have a contract beyond the 2025 season, and a free agency bidding war with her in the middle could ignite once her current deal expires. Ionescu signed a two-year, $410,060 contract extension with the Liberty in 2023, with New York getting their money's worth on her since.
Ionescu is from California, which makes it convenient for rumors to link her to the Los Angeles Sparks, which is another big-market franchise that could be looking for a new point guard in the offseason. The Sparks have an established star in the backcourt in the form of Kelsey Plum, but she's only on a one-year contract with Los Angeles.
For what it's worth, the New York Liberty are the most valuable team in 2025, according to Forbes. Owned by Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, New York is valued at $400 million with a revenue of $25 million.
Taken first overall in the 2020 WNBA draft by New York, the former Oregon Ducks star is playing in her sixth season in the league, four of which saw her earn an All-Star nod.
So far in her career in the WNBA, Ionescu is averaging 16.8 points, 5.9 assists and 5.5 rebounds through 166 games while shooting 40.3 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from behind the arc. She helped the Liberty win the 2024 WNBA title, beating the Minnesota Lynx in the league finals.
For now, the real focus for Ionescu is on helping the Liberty successfully defend the WNBA crown they won in 2024.
