WNBA Fans React Strongly Over Sabrina Ionescu’s Furious Demand in Liberty Loss to Sparks

As good as yesterday was for New York, tonight fell painstakingly flat. When the New York Liberty arrived for a clash vs the Los Angeles Sparks at the Barclays Center on Saturday, it was on the back of five straight wins and an ESPN prediction that showed them as 83.1% favorites. And, why not? After all, in their previous game, Sabrina Ionescu dropped 29 and Jonquel Jones powered home a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double in an 89–76 win over the Phoenix Mercury. However, a fairytale ending can be quite tough to achieve, evident from Liberty’s latest 99-101 defeat saw everything from controversies to unbridled anger.

The first punch gut came early in the game when Liberty star Breanna Stewart sustained a lower leg injury while running up the court in transition. She exited the game with three points and a rebound, limping to the locker room. So despite Liberty coach Sandy Brondello assuring, “No update, hopefully she’ll be OK,” after the game, it didn’t take time to realize the aftereffect of the exit. However, to an extent, Sabrina Ionescu did carry the entire city on her shoulders.

She went pouring in 30 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and tying the game at 99 with a cold-blooded elbow jumper with just 23.1 seconds left. But even that wasn’t enough to make up for what happened with 3:10 left in the third quarter.

With the Sparks leading 65-61, Ionescu drilled a huge three… only to watch it vanish from the scoreboard when officials ruled Jonquel Jones set an illegal screen. The call sent Ionescu into a full-on rage with her hands thrown halfway up, as she yelled “Tech me!” about 5 times at the refs. She practically dared them to hit her with a technical. They obliged. As expected, the clip soon reached social media.

As one particular X user rightly worded it, “Sabrina Ionescu was not asking to be T’d up – she was DEMANDING it 😂”.

Soon after, others followed, too.

Not Just the Refs, Fans Call Foul on Sabrina Ionescu

“Unfortunately for her it was an easy. Good call… was easily a moving, illegal screen. Wait & get a tech on a bad call at least!” is how one fan reacted. Then there was another user who didn’t mince any words when writing, “That’s just an embarrassing temper tantrum!!!” Another critic echoed the same thoughts, “Should of gotten one.” Many analyzed it, saying, “Lost the game because of it too.” 

Top Comment by Karen Brown

Bad officiating throughout the entire game!! When is Cathy Englebert going to get her act together and do something about...more

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Amid all the pile-on, one voice pushed back. They called out what they saw as inconsistent standards across leagues: “That wouldn’t be called in the NBA & LAX has gotten away with same or worse!😤” Although that defender might have conveniently forgotten some history. Like when Lance Stephenson got T’d up just for breaking out his air guitar or when Tim Duncan was famously slapped with a technical for laughing on the bench.

Another supporter called her “queen,” probably for standing up for what she believed in. Another person summed up that behaviour, writing, ““I do what I want” now where have I heard that one before…” Were they referring to Lil Uzi Vert’s song or Sabrina Ionescu’s on-court antics? Not hard to guess. Another comparison rose when a person called Sabrina “The Gavin Newsom of wnba.” 

Another comparison surfaced that might ruffle a few feathers: “Her and Caitlin Clark are the same person,” one fan declared. In reality, besides being star guards for their respective franchises, the two don’t share much beyond their stat sheets. Still, when Clark was sidelined by a string of injuries that forced her to miss the Commissioner’s Cup, All-Star Weekend, and several marquee matchups, Ionescu found a way to connect.

“I mean, obviously, completely different injuries, and in terms of how long I was out for. I didn’t really have a rookie year, but I told her I had a similar situation,” Ionescu said. “You sometimes have to almost go through it to be able to understand what your body needs, and you’re able to understand what you can play through and what you can’t. Although it sucks, it’s gonna be a blessing in disguise.”

Beyond the pep talk, the two now also share a new record. In Saturday’s loss, Ionescu became just the fourth player in WNBA history to post at least 30 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals in a single game. With that stat, she joined Caitlin Clark, Candace Parker, and Brandy Reed. If that’s enough to label them “the same person,” we’ll leave that call to you. But one thing is for sure: both know how to make noise, whether they’re on the court or watching from the sidelines.