The NBA and WNBA sneaker game has become a booming business with players debuting signature shoes, as well as custom colorways for previously released shoes. A signature shoe though is the peak for players, and New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu recently celebrated the release of her Sabrina 3 ‘Blueprint’ edition shoes.
Sabrina Ionescu’s new signature shoe style debuted this week, and fans that were in attendance for the Liberty’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday were treated to special giveaways in honor of the Sabrina 3 ‘Blueprint’ sneakers.
For fans sitting in the lower bowl of the Liberty’s arena, they received a special Sabrina 3 t-shirt. For fans seated in the upper bowl of the arena, they received a Sabrina 3 rally towel.
It didn’t end up being a good night for the Liberty though as they lost to the Sparks, 101-99, on a game-winning shot from Rickea Jackson. The loss dropped the Liberty to 17-7 on the season, and it was only their third loss at home.
But despite the loss, the Liberty still own the best record in the Eastern Conference, and the second best record overall behind only the Minnesota Lynx. Ionescu has been a huge reason for that. The starting point guard for the Liberty, Ionescu won the 3-Point contest over WNBA All-Star Weekend, and was selected to her fourth consecutive All-Star appearance.
Ionescu had appeared in 22 games so far coming into Saturday’s game, at a little over 31 minutes per game. She had been averaging a career-high 18.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.4 steals with splits of 38.6 percent shooting from the field, 32.0 percent shooting from the three-point line and 93.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
In the loss to the Sparks, Ionescu finished with 30 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals, hitting multiple clutch shots to keep the Liberty in the game as they erased a double-digit deficit.