MINNEAPOLIS — Despite a season and playoff run that has seen an improved and more dynamic Sabrina Ionescu, the Liberty star guard still has yet to crack the All-WNBA First Team.
On Wednesday afternoon before the Liberty face the Lynx in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals, the league announced the rosters of its 2024 All-WNBA First Team and Second Team, and Ionescu found herself on the latter for the third year in a row.
Teammate Breanna Stewart, a two-time MVP, earned her sixth First Team award and was joined by Lynx star and 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier, 2024 MVP A’ja Wilson of the Aces, Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark of the Fever, and five-time All-Star Alyssa Thomas of the Sun.
Ionescu received 15 First Team and 43 Second Team votes from the media, and leads the Second Team in points with 204, missing the top team by 52 points.
Players receive five points for first team votes and three points for second team votes.
“No, I just found out yesterday,” Ionescu said when asked if her performance in the playoffs has been motivated by the snub at the Liberty shootaround on Wednesday at Target Center. “I don’t, to be honest, really care about any of those types of awards. Just want to be the best that I can and help my team win, regardless of first team, second team, whatever it is.
“I think I understand what I bring to this team and obviously to this league. Regardless of that, I just want to be my best every single night. So, obviously, I’m thankful and honored for that award I got. But, obviously, I want to be the best and show up like that every night.”
Liberty teammate Jonquel Jones joined Ionescu on the Second Team list.
Ionescu addressed the news in a somewhat disappointed tone when reflecting on her strong season.
The 2020 WNBA No. 1 overall pick ranked ninth in points per game in the league this season (18.2) and fifth in assists per game (6.2).
She was more dominant in the first half of the season prior to the month-long Olympic break that saw her win her first gold medal, which may have hurt her in the voting.
In July, she was averaging 23.2 points and was shooting 42 percent from the field.
She added a rim threat to her game, scoring more from inside the paint than out, which was a big focus during the offseason for the 5-foot-11 guard to avoid being what she called “one dimensional.”
In September during the regular season, her numbers dipped down to just 12.3 points per game and she was shooting 30 percent both overall and from beyond the arc.
However, things quickly took a turn in the playoffs, especially when she scored a playoff career-high 36 points in Game 2 against the Dream in the first round.
Twenty-one of those points were also from inside the paint.
The three-time All-Star is averaging 19.8 points in the playoffs on 45 percent shooting – a significant jump from the Liberty’s playoff run to the finals in 2023 that saw Ionescu only shoot at 39 percent from the field for an average of 13 points.
In the four games it took for the Aces to put Liberty away in the WNBA Finals a year ago, she only averaged 9.8 points and was overwhelmed by the Aces’ backcourt in Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray, and Jackie Young.
This year, she has found her spots and has been competitive with Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride of the Lynx.
Ionescu is currently averaging 17 points, four assists, and three steals against the Lynx in the tied 1-1 best-of-five series.