East Bay’s Sabrina Ionescu joins Unrivaled 3-on-3 league

Bay Area native and WNBA champion Sabrina Ionescu has signed with the Unrivaled 3-on-3 league as the 36th and final player to join the new league.

She will join Phantom BC and sign a lucrative deal that “puts her in a category of her own,” according to ESPN. 

Ionescu will play with Brittney Griner, Marina Mabrey, Katie Lou Samuelson, Natasha Cloud and former Oregon teammate Satou Sabally.

Elite players such as Breanna Stewart, Rhyne Howard, Arike Ogunbowale, Kahleah Copper, Jewell Lloyd, and Aliyah Boston are among those participating in the Unrivaled league. Former Stanford stars Cameron Brink and Lexie Hull will also play in the league.

Valkyries expansion draft pick Kate Martin will also play in the new league, which begins play on Jan. 17 and runs until Mar. 17. The WNBA season does not begin until May. 

Ionescu, 27, won the WNBA title with the New York Liberty, scoring an average of 18.2 points per game and earning second-team All-WNBA honors. 

During the summer, Ionescu also won a gold medal with Team USA in Paris. ESPN reported that the Walnut Creek native underwent surgery to deal with a thumb injury earlier this month. 

Ionescu was named the Bay Area News Group girls basketball player of the decade after a decorated preps career at Miramonte High School in Orinda.