Yardbarker
x
Watch: Sabrina Ionescu Wipes Off Tears from Emotional Young Fan
John Jones-Imagn Images

When athletes perform at the highest level, they tend to inspire young children to follow in their footsteps. Sabrina Ionescu, now at age 27, has reached a stage in her career where she is inspiring the next generation every time she steps on the court.

The New York Liberty star was already a major name in college basketball when she was starring for the Oregon Ducks. Since coming into the WNBA, her exploits as a lethal scorer have gone on to become a blueprint for many to follow.

Caitlin Clark and several others have expanded on that, but credit the WNBA champion for paving the way. Ionescu may not have the endorsements to rival Clark, but what she does on the court enables young children to try to follow in her footsteps.

Since coming into the league, her signature sneaker line, the Nike Sabrina’s have become a popular choice among basketball players. Even young fans wear them as their design and comfort appeal to many.

Not everyone manages to get their hands on one, therefore some fans attend games with the hopes that someone like Sabrina Ionescu would gift them their game-worn sneakers. After the Liberty’s game against the Las Vegas Aces, the 27-year-old’s eyes met with one such young fan.

When she saw his sign asking for a pair of her sneakers, she first looked around as she had already committed the pair she was wearing to another fan. But seeing his dedication, she took off the pair from her feet, removed the inner soles and autographed them.

As she was about to hand it over, she noticed tears running down the young boy’s cheeks. She wiped them away, clicked pictures and then hugged the young fan and handing him her Black/Smoke Sabrina 2’s.

Sabrina Ionescu about to play alongside Caitlin Clark and Sonia Citron in All-Star game

Ever since Caitlin Clark came into the WNBA, fans have waited to see how she matches up against Sabrina Ionescu. Last season, in one of the games, the latter seemed to be schooling the rookie. However, as the former started to gain confidence, Ionescu continued to be one of her biggest supporters.

Last season, Clark and her All-Star teammates played against the Liberty guard and her Team USA squad. This season, the Indiana Fever guard is the captain of her All-Star team. She picked Ionescu as one of her fellow starters.

Clark also picked former Team USA U-19 teammate and Washington Mystics rookie, Sonia Citron as one of the reserves. Citron, has openly talked about how she has looked up towards the Liberty guard while coming up through college.

This means, come July 19th, both Clark and Citron will be able to play alongside Ionescu for the first time. It will be a dream setup for those three as one has often been seen as the 27-year-old’s on-court twin, and the other is about to play with her favorite WNBA star.

Sabrina Ionescu dominated against Aces

Sabrina Ionescu ‘s New York Liberty were on a 10-game unbeaten run at the start of the season. That run came to an end at the hands of Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever. Since then, the reigning champions have had some trouble finding their rhythm.

Including that loss to the Fever, the Liberty were 3-6 over their past 9 games. When they welcomed their perennial rival Las Vegas Aces to Barclays Center, they knew they had to break out into a lead.

Ionescu used her playmaking, scoring and rebounding to help her team follow that plan. Even though the Aces regained the lead at the half, the 5′ 11″ guard knew the game could be theirs if she took over.

Even though her threes were not falling, the Oregon alum consistently drove to the rim, drawing fouls and shot free throws. She finished the game with a stellar 28 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists to wind up a much-needed win.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!