For all facts and purposes and any quantitative measurement that depicts a successful WNBA season, Sabrina Ionescu experienced a successful season in 2023.
Two years removed from the ankle injury that ruined her rookie season and affected her start to her sophomore year, she broke both the NBA and WNBA three-point contest records in the space of two months, and even made her 122nd three-point shot, breaking Diana Taurasi’s single-season record.
In 2023, just like in 2022 and 2021, Ionescu’s 3-point shooting was the star of the show.
But there was a reason for that.
In just her third pro game, Ionescu sprained her left ankle while dribbling past a defender near the middle of the court, a Grade 3 sprain that ended her season and forced her to re-establish her offensive instincts.
Her three-point rhythm was excellent.
Her floaters, a strength from her youth, were removed.
“Try not to jump on one foot,” Ionescu told The Washington Post last month, “so I think that’s been missing from my game the last two years.”
That shooting resurgence has been the crux of Ionescu’s 17.2 points per game average this season, ranking second in the league for the Liberty (7-2) ahead of Saturday’s game against the Sun, a rematch of last year’s WNBA semifinal and a crucial Commissioner’s Cup showdown.
Ionescu is taking her highest percentage of shots (22.6 percent of her total attempts) from floater range (shots between 3-10 feet from the basket) since her shortened rookie season.
And she is shooting at her highest percentage (52.8%) since the first three games of 2020.
These figures are up from 14.3% and 40.9%, respectively, in 2023.
“It’s tough to play without doing the things that help me be successful and be the player I was before,” Ionescu said, “but the last two seasons I’ve been able to feel more comfortable, be healthy and get back to doing the things that I’m comfortable doing.”
The Liberty coaches also wanted Ionescu to use the floater more.
His assistant Olaf Lange emphasized that during several photo sessions last year.
She’s always had the ability — at Oregon State, at Miramonte High School, playing against boys as a junior — but she just hasn’t fully utilized it.
So Ionescu’s coach told her to speed everything up and find ways to finish opportunities around the basket, and that’s exactly what she did in Los Angeles during the offseason.
She didn’t need to change her 3-point mechanics.
Ionescu’s 44.8 percent 3-point shooting was the best of her WNBA career.
Stephen Curry challenged her to a fight during the NBA All-Star Game celebrations.
There was nothing to fix.
Instead, Ionescu focused on shooting 3-pointers off the dribble, shooting with and without screens, and trying to extend her range when possible.
But really, it all revolved around the floater.
Ionescu said mid-range jump shots take time to execute, and sometimes she doesn’t have time to drive onto the block and take an open layup before a forward tries to knock it down.
She could be relied on for floaters off the dribble and was effective in pick-and-roll scenarios.
“It’s really hard to teach,” Ionescu said, “but I think it can be really helpful if you understand it.”
Growing up, Ionescu watched how Curry and Steve Nash executed the floater.
Ionescu’s technique at that stage was pretty basic — “right hand, left foot floater,” she says — but gradually it grew into layered complexity, from lifting the wrong foot to grabbing the ball with both hands to speeding up the process and “figuring out how to change the trajectory of the ball.”
Lange said the floater has made Ionescu a more well-rounded player.
This complicates opponents’ defensive strategies and makes Ionescu a threat to help Liberty’s offense, drawing as many as three defenders if she jumps for a 3-pointer or drives far enough to take a floater.
Ionescu said she found the floater to be the most comfortable and effective way to use it since she sprained her ankle.
Early in the second half of Liberty’s opening game, she came around a screen, took one dribble and shot, then went into the basket and drew a foul.
Ionescu said similar events helped shape her career, even though she was out of the spotlight for several seasons and it took time for her to come back into the spotlight.
“But right now, it’s the perfect shot,” Lange said.
