MINNEAPOLIS — Despite a season and playoffs in which Sabrina Ionescu has grown and become more dynamic, the Liberty star guard has yet to crack the All-WNBA First Team.
On Wednesday afternoon, before the Liberty faced the Lynx in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals, the league announced the 2024 All-WNBA First Team and Second Team rosters, and Ionescu was named to the latter for the third year in a row.
Two-time MVP teammate Brianna Stewart won her sixth first-team award, Lynx star and 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier, 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson (Ace), Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark (ace) also joined the team. Fever and five-time All-Star of the Sun Alyssa Thomas.
Ionescu received 15 first-team votes and 43 second-team votes from the media, leading the second team with 204 points and 52 points behind the first team.
Players receive 5 points for first team votes and 3 points for second team votes.
Asked if Wednesday's snub in the Liberty shootout at Target Center was a driving force behind his playoff performance, Ionescu said, “No, I just found out yesterday.” “To be honest, I'm not really interested in those types of awards. I just want to do the best I can and help the team win, whether it's first team, second team, whatever.
“I think I understand what I bring to this team and of course to this league. Regardless of that, I want to do my best every night. So, obviously… I'm grateful and honored to receive this award, but of course I want to be the best and show up like that every night.”
Liberty teammate Jonquel Jones joined Ionescu on the second-team list.
Looking back on his strong season, Ionescu addressed the news with a somewhat disappointed tone.
The 2020 WNBA No. 1 overall pick ranked ninth in the league in points per game (18.2) and fifth in assists per game (6.2) this season.
She was more dominant in the first half of the season before the month-long Olympic break when she won her first gold medal, but that may have hurt her in the voting.
In July, she was averaging 23.2 points and shooting 42 percent from the field.
She added more rim threat to her game, scoring more from inside the paint than outside. This was a big focus during the offseason for the 5-foot-11 guard to avoid becoming what she called “one-dimensional.”
In September during the regular season, her numbers dropped to just 12.3 points per game, shooting 30 percent both overall and from beyond the basket.
However, things quickly turned around in the playoffs, especially when she scored a playoff career-high 36 points in Game 2 of the first round against the Dream.
Of those, 21 came from inside the paint.
The three-time All-Star is averaging 19.8 points on 45 percent shooting in the playoffs. That's a huge jump from Ionescu, who averaged 13 points on just 39 percent from the field during the Liberty's playoff run to the 2023 Finals.
In the four games it took for the Aces to beat Liberty in the WNBA Finals a year ago, she averaged only 9.8 points and was outplayed by the Aces' backcourt of Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young.
This year, she has found her spot and is competing with the Lynx's Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride.
Ionescu is currently averaging 17 points, four assists and three steals in a 1-1 best-of-5 series against the Lynx.
