Sabrina Ionescu was the hero on Wednesday night as she hit a long game-winning three-pointer against the Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals. Tied at 77, Ionescu took a step-back three from near the Lynx logo that decided the game with one second remaining.
After the game a reporter asked Ionescu, who was left of All-WNBA first team in favor of Alyssa Thomas and Caitlin Clark, if she had been motivated by not being named All-WNBA first team because she "sure played in the last minute like you were trying to prove a point." Ionescu had
While teammate Breanna Stewart and coach Sandy Brondello laughed, Ionescu responded, "That was just a great All-WNBA second team performance. That's it."
"That was just a great All-WNBA Second Team performance. That's it."
— New York Liberty Videos (@SNYLiberty) October 17, 2024
Sabrina Ionescu mic drop 🎤 pic.twitter.com/fU8klJlV6Z
"That was just a great All-WNBA Second Team performance." 🗣️ 👀
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) October 17, 2024
Sabrina Ionescu on her play in the final minutes. pic.twitter.com/AKcptxPUjQ
Ionescu struggled until the final minute, but finished with 13 points, six assists and five rebounds. Whatever happened with regular season award voting, the Liberty needed her in clutch time.
As for the All-WNBA honors, Thomas averaged more assists, rebounds and steals than Ionescu on a team that only won two fewer games. Meanwhile, Ionescu averaged fewer points, rebounds and assists than Clark while shooting a lower percentage from the field, from three and from the free throw line.
Clark played with the previous year's rookie of the year on a team that had finished 13-27 the previous season while Ionescu played on a team coming of a WNBA Finals appearance that featured two of the previous three league MVPs. It's unclear which player the Liberty feel should have switched places with their point guard.
Overall, she should be pretty satisfied as her team takes a 2-1 lead in the WNBA Finals, but it's the ability to feel slighted about your team only getting one player on All-WNBA first team and rallying around that for motivation that makes players and teams great sometimes.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sabrina Ionescu Takes Shot at All-WNBA Voting After Game-Winner vs. Lynx.
