Sabrina Ionescu, guard for the New York Liberty, discusses her challenging 2026 season marked by injuries and inconsistent performance. She has missed 13 games due to a foot injury and back issues, leading to career lows in scoring at 15.1 points per game and shooting percentages from beyond the arc. Despite these setbacks, Ionescu remains optimistic about ending the season strongly and sees her current difficulties as an opportunity for growth rather than a setback.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-20,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Sabrina Ionescu, a guard for the WNBA's New York Liberty, is facing her most challenging season due to injuries. She has missed 13 games because of a left foot injury and a back issue, leading to inconsistent performance this year. Despite averaging only 15.1 points per game (the second lowest in her career), Ionescu remains optimistic about rewriting her current season through resilience and determination rather than dwelling on setbacks. Her shooting percentage from beyond the arc is under 30%, marking the second consecutive year with a decline in performance. Additionally, she was left off USA Basketball’s FIBA World Cup roster this year. Despite these hurdles, Ionescu aims to approach her situation head-on and focus on contributing positively to her team's success.
Written for “Sabrina Ionescu Injury Update” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu doesn’t want you to feel sorry for her.
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you → want → her
She sure doesn’t feel that way.
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She → feel → ?
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you → get → things
tRY IT NOWIonescu never has and likely never will.
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NOWIonescu → try → IT
It’s been ingrained in her not to dwell on the circumstance but rather to take things head on.
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It → ingrain → things
“I’ve always been the person that’s found a way through difficulties and hard times,” Ionescu told The Post before Friday’s win over the Lynx.
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Ionescu → find → Lynx
Don’t expect that to change even amid what has been the most challenging season Ionescu has endured in years.
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Ionescu → expect → years
Her resilience has been tested this year.
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resilience → test → ?
She missed the first two weeks of the season with a left foot injury.
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She → miss → injury
She missed even more time with a back issue.
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She → miss → issue
She’s been sidelined for 13 games and hasn’t quite found the consistency she yearns for in her game as her back remained a nagging problem.
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back → sideline → game
She’s averaging 15.1 points, the second fewest of her career.
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She → average → career
She’s shooting under 30 percent from deep for the second consecutive year.
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She → shoot → year
She was left off USA Basketball’s FIBA World Cup roster.
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She → leave → roster
She was in a slump for most of August and entered the break on a tough note after missing all 10 of her shots in the Liberty’s final game before Berlin.
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She → enter → Berlin
But Ionescu views this final stretch of the season and the playoffs as an opportunity to pen her desired ending to 2026.
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Ionescu → view → 2026
“It’s an opportunity to finish off really strong and kind of know that I’m good,” Ionescu said.
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Ionescu → ’ → ?
“I don’t want to go into an offseason just thinking like, ‘Yeah, it sucks because I was hurt and it is what it is.’
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it → want → offseason
But I think more knowing that there’s an opportunity to kind of rewrite this year for myself personally and the injury that I had but knowing that I can make it a lot smoother with winning.”
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it → think → winning
Ionescu stopped herself from comparing this year’s troubles to her first couple of seasons.
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Ionescu → stop → seasons
“Nothing tops” what she went through in her first two years, she said.
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she → top → years
Ionescu suffered a season-ending left ankle sprain four games into her rookie campaign.
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Ionescu → suffer → campaign
Her recovery extended into the 2021 season, limiting her lateral quickness and explosive burst.
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recovery → extend → quickness
But that experience gives Ionescu perspective as she’s dealt with turbulence this season.
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she → give → turbulence
She knows what it’s like to have the game she loves abruptly taken away.
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she → know → what
“If I wouldn’t have gone through that, this would have felt devastating for me,” Ionescu said.
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Ionescu → go → me
“This year would have felt devastating not having missed as much as I did, which is the most I’ve missed since I was out when I was early on my journey.
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I → feel → journey
“I wasn’t out with anything that was detrimental or something that kept me out for a long time,” she continued.
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she → keep → time
“I was able to work out through a lot of that stuff — just wasn’t good enough to play…
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I → work → stuff
I stayed positive through it because I knew that it could always be worse.”
uncertain
it → stay → it
During the World Cup, Ionescu underwent “more aggressive treatment and work” to help get her body right for this final stretch.
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body → undergo → stretch
In the Liberty’s first game back, Ionescu had 17 points, six assists and three steals.
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Ionescu → have → points
She also went 3-for-9 from deep.
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She → go → deep
“It’s about just feeling good and doing what I can to be healthy for when it matters the most,” Ionescu said, “and obviously that’s this point in the year.”
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that → ’ → year
The Liberty’s confidence in Ionescu remains high.
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confidence → remain → Ionescu
“She’s had her ups and downs, but when it’s winning time, she continues to produce,” coach Chris DeMarco said.
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DeMarco → have → ups
“We need her at her best to get to where we want to go.”
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we → need → best
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