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Mechelle VoepelESPN.com
As Sabrina Ionescu transitions from the vibrant green of the Oregon Ducks to the green foam of New York Liberty for the 2020 WNBA season, some things are quite familiar to her. Ionescu, the No. 1 pick in the April draft, is one of seven rookies with Liberty this season.
“You know, it reminds me a lot of my freshman year in Oregon because we had seven freshmen,” he said. “The ability to learn and adapt and not really know better. We’re playing without pressure, honestly. No one expects us to be very good. I think having that helpless mindset we all will have is going to help us. Perhaps the teams will overlook us.”
That’s not likely, not with the top pick entering the league after redefining college basketball. The last time we saw Ionescu on the court, he was leading Oregon to the Pac-12 tournament title. The coronavirus pandemic canceled the NCAA 2020 tournament and delayed the start of the WNBA season in May. Now Ionescu makes his professional debut on Saturday (ESPN, ET noon) against the Seattle Storm, the league favorites in this short 22 game season at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
How can you see Ionescu and Liberty this season?
Starting Saturday, Liberty will play five regular season games on ESPN networks. The other games are against Phoenix on August 2 (ESPN, 1 pm ET), against Washington on August 7 (ESPN2, 7 pm ET), against Las Vegas on August 9 (ESPN, 3 pm ET) and vs.. Los Angeles on August 11 (ESPN2, 9 pm ET).
The Liberty will appear 10 times on CBS Sports Network and once on CBS. Other games will air on the WNBA League Pass, which is available by subscription.
What kind of statistics should we expect from Ionescu this season?
We can get a rough estimate by translating their performance in Oregon to their WNBA equivalents, based on how rookie statistics have moved from the past. We also fit Ionescu’s likely big role on Liberty’s rookie list.
First, we have to guess how much Ionescu will play. We went 34 minutes per game, slightly less than No. 1 pick Breanna Stewart played as a rookie in 2016 (34.7 MPG) and similar to most of the minutes we’ve seen a rookie guard average in recent memory (Odyssey Sims, who played 34.4 MPG in 2014).
Based on that and New York’s pace of play last season, estimates for Ionescu are 16.7 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 4.9 RPG. While that might not sound as pervasive as Ionescu’s near triple-double averages during his Oregon senior season (17.5 PPG, 9.1 APG, and 8.6 RPG), those projected numbers would be a historic production for a WNBA rookie.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, 6.0 APG would tie Sue Bird for a WNBA rookie since Ticha Penicheiro averaged 7.5 in 1998. Only one other rookie (Temeka Johnson in 2005) has averaged 5.0 assists. Of the three, only Bird (14.4 PPG) averaged a double-digit score. That means Ionescu could provide the best combination of scoring and play ever made by a WNBA rookie. – ESPN’s Kevin Pelton
What should we expect from Liberty this season?
With so much youth, Liberty’s external expectations, as Ionescu said, are not high. Most project them to finish last in the 12-team league.
But Ionescu and Liberty are not concerned with the projections. They’re getting used to each other, new coach Walt Hopkins, and a season in the “bubble,” which New York General Manager Jonathan Kolb believes will help them, as the campus environment might remind them a bit of the college.
Ionescu sees a lot of similarity so far between how Liberty will play and how Oregon played under coach Kelly Graves.
“Just being able to spread the floor and have handles,” Ionescu said. “Just being able to play, read and react and not necessarily having to cancel a play every time it falls. That’s the freedom they gave me in Oregon, and I think that’s what helped us be so successful.”
The other rookies for New York are guard Jazmine Jones (Louisville), forward / guard Jocelyn Willoughby (Virginia) and forwards Joyner Holmes (Texas), Leaonna Odom (Duke), Kylee Shook (Louisville) and Megan Walker (UConn) . Guard Layshia Clarendon, who is entering her eighth season at age 29, is the oldest player on the list. The Amanda Zahui B. center, who has five years of experience, the Kiah Stokes center (four) and the Kia Nurse guard (two) are the other veterans.
Ionescu said he took advantage of the last few months to watch videos of his teammates from their university careers or the WNBA so that, as a point guard, he would know some of their trends. She is prepared to take part in the leadership, despite being a novice.
“One of the things that makes it so special is that it is not going to force its way into a leadership role,” Hopkins said. “You are going to lead in whatever way you see fit. You are not afraid to back down and allow a different voice on any given day. You do a good job of both open and covert leadership strategies.”
“Having all that experience in Oregon, being someone who came in right away, [she] I found a way to lead. And as the years went by, he found new ways to lead and grew up in different roles. I don’t think this is going to be any different. She is really special in that regard. “
During Ionescu’s freshman season in Oregon, the Ducks went 8-10 in the Pac-12 and were No. 10 seed, but entered the NCAA tournament and made it to the Elite Eight. There were growing pains for the ducks, but things turned out well. (They also did the Elite Eight in 2018 and advanced to their first Final Four in 2019.) That’s a good memory for Ionescu for her WNBA rookie season. She knows that there will also be ups and downs for Freedom.
“There will be games where things are not going well and you are not going to win,” he said. “Having that understanding will help me this year.”
Should we expect to see Ionescu count triple doubles?
Ionescu had 26 triple doubles in Oregon, more than the total for any other male or female college player. Her last came on February 24 in a victory at Stanford after she spoke earlier in the day at a memorial service for Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles. That night, Ionescu became the first player to reach the 2,000 point / 1,000 rebound / 1,000 assist mark when she reached the rebound portion of the milestone.
Can Ionescu bring some of his triple-double magic to the WNBA? The rebound will be the most difficult part for the 5-foot-11-inch guard. He showed incredible ability for that in college, but now he’ll take on the best rebounders in the world.
In the history of the WNBA, including the playoffs, there have been only nine triples, according to ESPN statistics and information. Sheryl Swoopes of Houston is the only player to record a triple-double twice: in 1999 and 2005. The others, in chronological order: Margo Dydek of Utah (2001), Lisa Leslie of Los Angeles (2003), Deanna Nolan from Detroit (2005), Temeka Johnson from Seattle (2014), Candace Parker from Los Angeles (2015), Courtney Vandersloot from Chicago (2018) and Chelsea Gray from Los Angeles (2019).
All double triples were points / rebounds / assists, except for Dydek and Leslie, who were points / rebounds / blocks.
Double triples are more common in the NBA, but games are 12 minutes longer and the season is also considerably longer. (The WNBA has played a regular 34-game season in recent years and planned to hit 36 this year before the pandemic shortens the season to 22 games.) There were 94 triple doubles in the NBA this season before the break in play. in March, and there were 127 last season. Three players, Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Nikola Jokic, have at least nine triples this season.
Although it will be a challenge, Ionescu could make triple double a little more common in the WNBA.
Is Ionescu the favorite to win the WNBA Rookie of the Year?
Ionescu won almost every award he was eligible for last college season, including the National and Pac-12 honors of the year. Will she add the WNBA rookie trophy?
As mentioned, you will have a lot of rookie competition on your team. Also, No. 2 pick, former Ionescu Ducks teammate Satou Sabally of the Dallas Wings could be a huge contender, as is No. 4 pick for Chennedy Carter, who is expected to have plenty of time. game for the Atlanta Dream.
The WNBA began introducing Rookie of the Year in 1998, his second season. Of the 22 winners, 12 have been the No. 1 pick. There was a period from 2008 to 2016 in which the best pick won the eight-year-old eight award. But in two of the last three, the n. No. 4 Allisha Gray of Dallas in 2017 and n. # 6 Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx in 2019, that was not the case.
Although it is an individual prize, the way teams can play in voting. Another rookie helping his team make the playoffs this year could have an advantage if the Liberty are in the basement.
This year marked the first time that New York, one of the original eight WNBA franchises that launched in 1997, had the top draft pick.
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