1. New York Liberty select Sabrina Ionescu, 5’10 G, Oregon
Oregon coach Kelly Graves posted the “I see you” emoji after the draft lottery, and with all due respect to his other players here in the first round, it was for Ionescu. A 38.3 percent assist rate goes along with an absurdly low 12.4 turnover rate, meaning that Ionescu manages to make the elite plays without costing her team possessions in the process. For a Liberty team whose point guards each have a turnover percentage north of 30, this is no small thing. She shot better than 42 percent from three, despite getting the best every opponent could throw at her defensively, and she is an elite rebounder for her position as well. A team that had been left by the side of the road looks like it could be playing in a sparkling Brooklyn arena with the most dynamic entrant to the league since A’ja Wilson, and the best point guard prospect since Sue Bird. That’s quite a turn of fortune.