Liberty select Oregon star Ionescu 1st overall in WNBA draft

The New York Liberty selected Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu first overall in Friday's WNBA draft.

Ionescu, a 5-foot-11 point guard from Walnut Creek, California, chose to return to Oregon after a strong junior campaign in 2018-19 - during which she led the Ducks to the Final Four - and further cemented her claim to one of the truly great collegiate careers of all time.

She averaged 17.5 points, 9.1 assists (tops in the nation), and 8.6 rebounds per game to go with 39.2% shooting from long range this past season. Ionescu led the Ducks to a Pac-12 championship before the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ionescu was named the Naismith Player of the Year and the AP Player of the Year, and received the John R. Wooden Award, each recognizing her as the nation's top player.

She holds the record for career triple-doubles (26) and is the only player in NCAA history to surpass 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists.

Ionescu's arrival in New York is the latest component of the Liberty's organizational overhaul since Brooklyn Nets owner Joseph Tsai purchased the team from New York Knicks owner James Dolan in January 2019.

The Liberty installed Jonathan Kolb as general manager in March 2019, replaced head coach Katie Smith with Walt Hopkins in January 2020, and traded their franchise player, seven-time All-Star Tina Charles, just this week.

The team has failed to reach the playoffs in four of the past seven seasons and has yet to win the title in its 23 years of operation.

With Ionescu in the fold, the Liberty boast one of the league's most promising young nuclei, which also includes All-Star guard Kia Nurse, 2018 second overall pick Asia Durr, and promising 6-foot-9 center Han Xu.