Moments after Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty closed out their 90-82 victory over the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday, Ionescu and Lebron James — who attended the game — shared a hug on the court. Before beginning her WNBA career with the New York Liberty in 2020, Ionescu played four years for the Oregon Ducks.

Ionescu didn’t have her most efficient day shooting the basketball on Saturday, but she still scored 15 points for New York and excelled in other areas, finishing with 12 assists.

The Liberty are off to a hot start this season with a record of 12-2 — the second-best record in the league — putting them a half-game back of the first-place Connecticut Sun. Ionescu has been a large part of New York’s success, averaging 17.6 points, 5.9 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game, on 42.6% shooting this season.

 

While the WNBA season is in full swing, James’s offseason began in April after the Los Angeles Lakers suffered a series loss to the Denver Nuggets in five games. After the series, the Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham was fired, and LA is still searching for a replacement.

The Liberty play their next game on Tuesday against the Phoenix Mercury on the road. The Mercury are 7-7 on the season, but they’ve won three of their last four times out. After that, the Liberty will host the LA Sparks for back-to-back games in New York, where Ionescu will face off against Cameron Brink, a Sparks rookie native to Portland.