When Ionescu said, “I carry Kobe and Gigi with me every day and honor their legacies through my dedication to the game,” she wasn’t just speaking for the sake of it. Four years after losing her mentor Kobe in the tragic accident that also claimed the lives of eight others, including Gianna, Ionescu has proven her words true.

On October 1st, Sabrina Ionescu faced the media after winning Game 2 against the Las Vegas Aces. Despite an impressive 2-0 run against the back-to-back defending champions, Ionescu wasn’t satisfied. “We haven’t won anything,” she said. Sounds familiar, right? Kobe’s mentee displayed the exact same attitude as her mentor.

Remember the 2009 NBA Finals when Bryant was leading the Lakers? After defeating opponents, Bryant came up for the post-match conference, and when asked if he was happy, he gave a somewhat unexpected reply: “Job’s not finished. Job finished? I don’t think so,” Bryant declared to the media.

And that’s how Lakers guard Kobe Bryant hit 30 points to lead the Lakers to victory over the Magic in the 2009 Finals. And tonight, Sabrina Ionescu scored 24 points with a go-ahead jumper at the 1:15 mark. Though it was a semifinal game against the Aces for the Liberty.

Sabrina Ionescu and the Liberty stay hungry for more

Game 3 between the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces is scheduled for Friday. After Tuesday’s 88-84 defeat, the Aces stand on the brink of elimination. Just one more win for the Liberty, and the Aces will be out of the running. However, Wilson and company still have a chance to change their fate, as happened during the 2018 WNBA Championships.

The Phoenix Mercury were in a similar situation as the Aces after losing the first two games against the Seattle Storm, both by four points. But when they went on to play Game 3, the tables were turned. They roared back with a 22-point win against their opponents, something that had never happened before.

Still, it wasn’t enough to capture the championship title. Despite their impressive efforts, the Mercury lost Game 5 by 94-84. As for the Aces, it won’t be an easy path. However, the team has experience knocking off the Liberty in the 2023 Final Four game. But against Ionescu and her team, the Aces haven’t secured a single win this season.

“We did what we were supposed to. This isn’t what we came to do. We are a hungry group. We battled; they came out swinging. We got big stops when we needed to,” added Ionescu. This means the Liberty are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to defeat the Aces. Will the LV be able to bounce back this Friday? Stay tuned to find out!