Sabrina Ionescu was on fire. Ponytail flying, she hit shot after shot, the basketball flying from her hands and arcing through the hoop as she made her way around the court.

The packed stands sparkled with camera flashes as fans
captured what was sure to be a historic moment: WNBA
star vs. NBA star, facing off in a 3-point contest.

Watching Sabrina rack up points, her opponent was visibly nervous. Competing separately, Sabrina had scored 37 points to the NBA star’s 31, which led them to this historic face off. But would she be able to beat him in person, on the same court, with thousands watching?

Her moment was going fast, her arms shooting baskets
like a windmill. She kept on smiling even as she missed some shots at the end. She finished with 26 points.
Sabrina gave a big hug to her competition as he started his turn. He missed his first shot, but then went 3, 6, 9…29. He beat Sabrina by just THREE points!

But for Sabrina, this wasn’t losing. She had nearly tied with
the best three point shooter of all time! It didn’t matter that she was nine years younger, or a woman. What mattered
is that she could shoot.

Being able to share this message meant the world to
Sabrina, given what she’d been up against as a kid—a girl who just wanted to play basketball like the boys. A girl who had to make her own opportunities.

I’m Isabella Tugman. And this is Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls.

A fairy tale podcast about the real-life rebel women who inspire us.

On this episode: Sabrina Ionescu, record breaking athlete leading the way for women’s basketball.

Ten-year-old Sabrina bounded past her twin brother, Eddy, the basketball an orange blur as she dribbled. She shot,then hooted as it dropped through the net. While their parents, immigrants from Romania, were at work, the twins spent their summer break on the basketball court.

Ever since their big brother taught them to play back when they were three, they’d been hyper competitive. Having a built-in rival—and best friend—helped Sabrina get
good…really good.

And…really thirsty. Eying the 7-11 across the street, she winked at her brother. She raised her chin confidently, and challenged the adults playing on the next court to a game of HORSE. Sabrina was small for her age and the men hadn’t been watching her—they had no idea how good she was. Yeah, sure, they scoffed—if she won, they’d give the kids Slurpee money. Before long, the grown ups were thoroughly whooped, shaking their heads in disbelief as Sabrina and Eddy headed across to the street to claim their rewards, money in hand. Drinks never tasted so sweet!

Sabrina started playing on a rec basketball team in fourth grade, and took any opportunity she could get to practice. Sabrina would go to her brother’s games with her sneakers in hand. That way, if the team was short a player she could sub in and play. Plus, she and Eddy had a superpower: they called out to each other in Romanian so their opponents didn’t know their next move.

The other boys weren’t always happy to have her there, and could be aggressive. It was the same with pick-up
games in the park. Sabrina was a natural scorer, but the boys never wanted to pass her the ball. On the court, as her blood boiled, she realized—“if I [can] rebound, [I’ll] be able to get the ball myself.” The boys trying to exclude her didn’t know they were making her even tougher.

Tougher, AND better at basketball. She couldn’t get enough of the sport, even on her rec league. Sabrina wanted to join the middle school basketball team, but they didn’t have a girls team at the time. That was no problem for Sabrina! She asked to join the boys team. She was more than good enough to hold her own.

But the school said…wait for it…“You should be playing with dolls.” A sexist response like that could have shut down Sabrina’s dreams. But that wasn’t Sabrina. Just like she did on the court, she took matters into her own hands, recruiting enough girls to start a new team. If the boys didn’t want her on their team, she would simply start her
own.

Sabrina’s basketball career took off and thrived in high school. Colleges across the country battled to get her on their team. After much deliberation, she chose the
University of Oregon. Gooo ducks!

Sabrina and her new team got to know each other and
learned to communicate. And as they did, their playing
improved immensely. Sabrina had a sixth sense for
knowing how to assist her teammates.

So much so, that by their seventh game, Sabrina earned the first of her many triple-doubles, which means she scored in the double digits in three of five categories.

Some players get one triple-double in their career if they’re
lucky. But people started calling Sabrina the “Triple Double
Queen.”

When the Ducks made it to the NCAA Final Four her junior year, Sabrina knew it might be the last game of her college career. She could graduate a year early and make herself eligible for the WNBA draft after this.

Coming into the second half of the game, the Ducks were
leading by one point and the crowd was roaring—so loud, in fact, that Sabrina couldn’t hear her teammates. Or her coach.

As the minutes ticked down, she couldn’t stop thinking
—don’t let your team down. This is your last chance to win together.Then, an opportunity: if she could score two more points, her team would win. In the final minute,Sabrina went for it. She ran up to the net, reached out with the ball and… missed.

The ball hit the ground with a thud. Sabrina was crushed. But, as disappointed as she was, a new determination set in. She decided she couldn’t leave the Ducks for the WNBA—not when she had unfinished business. Next year, she and her team WOULD win the championship. She
would make sure of it.

By Sabrina’s senior year in 2020, everything seemed to be falling into place. She was playing exceptionally well, and her future professional career was looking bright. She even became the first NCAA player to record 2,000 points,1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds.

But then, only a few weeks later, the COVID pandemic hit and the world locked down. Now, Sabrina and the Ducks would never win a championship together. It was hard to leave her college basketball career feeling incomplete, but she and her team had accomplished so much together. And Sabrina wasn’t done yet. Her professional career was just getting started.

Later that year, Sabrina was home with her family,
crowded around the TV as the WNBA commissioner
prepared to announce first draft picks. It sure wasn’t the way Sabrina had dreamed of this moment when she was a kid. But if they hadn’t been squished together on the couch, Sabrina wouldn’t have heard her family cheer the loudest when they heard: “With the first pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft, the New York Liberty select Sabrina Ionescu from the University of Oregon.”

Sabrina had never been happier! After all her hard work, she would join the WNBA and show the world what she
could really do.

But of course, playing professionally came with highs and lows, too. Sabrina hurt her ankle and missed her whole
rookie season. When she came back, the Triple-Double Queen earned the first triple-double in Liberty history; by her third season, the Liberty made it to the finals, but then
lost to the Los Vegas Aces. Through it all, Sabrina wasn’t fazed. Her mentor had prepared her for this. “You have to lose to know what it takes to win.”

That loss lit a fire under Sabrina and her team. The next year, in game three of the WNBA finals, a stadium of
20,000 screaming, chanting, cheering fans went silent as Sabrina, with one second left on the clock, sunk a
game-winning three-point dagger from 28 feet. It was
known as the “shot heard round the world”—one of the
greatest shots in WNBA history! Sabrina was flooded with joy, and the Liberty went on to win the championship. Her basketball dream come true.

Now, as a New York Liberty star, Triple-Double Queen,
and even a Team USA Olympic gold medalist, Sabrina has
started the SI20 Foundation, which works to provide kids
with equitable access to sports. The first Nike shoe with her name on it is worn proudly by women and men alike,including 77 NBA players—the first shoe designed by a WNBA player to cross over into the men’s league.

Thanks to her dedication and love of the sport, there are
thousands of kids practicing their layups right now, watching Sabrina shine, maybe even wearing her shoes!
She’s their role model now, and they’re following in her
footsteps.

CREDITS

This podcast is a production of Rebel Girls. It’s based on
the book series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls.

This episode was narrated by ME, TKTK. It was
produced and directed by Haley Dapkus, with sound
design and mixing by Mumble Media.

The story was written by Nicole Haroutunian. Fact
checking by Rose Garrett. Our intern was Arianna
Griffiths. Our executive producers were Joy Smith,
Anjelika Temple, and Jes Wolfe.

Original theme music was composed and performed by
Elettra Bargiacchi.

A special thanks to Sabrina Ionescu and the whole Rebel
Girls team, who made this podcast possible! Until next
time, staaaay rebel!