New York Liberty star Sabriana Ionescu has competed in the Unrivaled Basketball league in the WNBA offseason. However, according to Meghan L. Hall of USA Today's For The Win, Ionescu's Unrivaled season will come to an early end.
"Sabrina Ionescu will not participate in any remaining games due to prior commitments," Hall wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Ionescu, who played for Phantom in the league, averaged 18 points per game across nine total contests. She also recorded per game averages of 7.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per outing. Although Ionescu played well in the new 3v3 league, her team, Phantom, holds just a 3-9 record as of this story's writing. They are in last place overall.
The Lunar Owls, led by Napheesa Collier, are 11-1 overall. They lead Unrivaled and have found no shortage of success. Collier is becoming a popular WNBA MVP candidate prediction amid her success in Unrivaled.
Ionescu, 27, is also a potential MVP candidate.
Sabrina Ionescu's 2025 WNBA season outlook
Ionescu finished sixth in WNBA MVP voting in 2024 after averaging 18.2 points, 6.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game. Playing on the same team as Breanna Stewart makes it difficult to receive serious MVP consideration, as Stewart is a consistent candidate to win the award, but Ionescu's sixth place finish was the closest she has come to earning the MVP.
Perhaps she can take another step forward in 2025. Playing in Unrivaled could help her take that step forward, as she played a competitive brand of basketball against some of the best players in the league this offseason.
It will be interesting to see how Unrivaled players perform in the upcoming 2025 campaign. Will they require extra rest after playing against especially talented competition in the offseason? Or will the Unrivaled players be better prepared to find success in the WNBA campaign?
Only time will tell, of course. It is an intriguing topic to debate, however.
Sabina Ionescu is focused on more than individual accomplishments, though. She played a pivotal role in helping the Liberty earn a 2024 WNBA championship. New York still features plenty of talent and they are expected to make another deep postseason run. With Ionescu, Stewart and Jonquel Jones leading the way, there is not much reason to doubt the possibility of the Liberty repeating as champions.
Anything can happen in the WNBA season, however.