WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu: ‘We hope to empower a younger generation of girls'

New York Liberty star guard Sabrina Ionescu, the No. 1 pick in the 2020 WNBA draft, will play her first game at Barclays Center next month.

Ionescu is the NCAA’s all-time leader in career triple-doubles and was the first player in college basketball history with at least 2,000 points as well as 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists.

She developed a strong relationship with the late Kobe Bryant, who held one-on-one training sessions with her, and his daughter Gianna Bryant. Ionescu was one of the speakers at Bryant’s memorial service in February 2020.

The former Oregon standout recorded 33 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists while shooting 6-for-10 from beyond the arc in just her second professional game. But she suffered an injury in the subsequent game that kept her on the sidelines for the remainder of the season.

We caught up with Ionescu to discuss her injury recovery and some of the other projects that she has worked on during the offseason leading into her sophomore campaign.

Please note this interview was minorly edited in its transcript for clarity.