New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week Monday after averaging 18.4 points, 8.8 assists and 6.4 rebounds through the team's first five games. It was an electric opening week for Ionescu, one that included hitting a game-winner at the horn on opening night and becoming the youngest player in league history to record a triple-double.
Ionescu is the first Oregon alum to ever take home a WNBA Player of the Week honor.
Ionescu’s 18.4 points per game are tied for 10th in the league (with Jonquel Jones), and her 8.8 assists are second only to Chicago’s Courtney Vandersloot (9.3 assists per game). She shot a remarkable 48.5% from three in her first five games — good for fourth among players who have attempted at least 20 3-pointers — and has made more threes than anyone in the league (16).
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft accomplished all of this after missing most of last season with a left ankle jury. She has shown that she is fully healthy once again, playing a league-high 173 minutes (34.6 per game) in the opening week.
Ionescu made a statement on opening night against the Indiana Fever, scoring 13 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter and draining a game-winning buzzer-beater to propel the Liberty to a nail-biting victory. Four days later, she became the first player in Liberty history to record a triple-double when she dropped 26 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds in a win over the Minnesota Lynx.
Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm took home the Western Conference Player of the Week award.
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