Of all the championship dreams lost in the wake of coronavirus, Sabrina Ionescu’s rates somewhere near the top.
Last spring, the transcendent basketball star from Walnut Creek could have been the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, a projection few in her shoes would have walked away from.
But Ionescu put the pros on hold.
In a heartfelt letter that she penned in the Players’ Tribune, one in which she marvels that her idol, Kobe Bryant, broke down her game in an ESPN+ video, Ionescu announced her intention to return to the University of Oregon because “we have unfinished business.”
Friday, more than 12 months after writing that letter to “Ducks Nation,” Ionescu is expected to be the first player taken in this year’s WNBA draft.
But it’s impossible to think the joy of that special moment will alleviate the unfathomable pain that 2020 has brought her way, from Bryant’s death to the cancellation of the NCAA tournament because of a global pandemic.
“Obviously one of the worst years of my life but also one of the best,” Ionescu said on a video conference call Tuesday.
On Jan. 26, the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gigi, herself a budding basketball star, and seven others rocked Ionescu’s world.
Four weeks later, she overcame the flu to give an eloquent speech during Bryant’s memorial at Staples Center, flew to the Bay Area immediately after and helped Oregon defeat Stanford that evening on national television.
Then, with Oregon in prime position to complete its “unfinished business” of winning a national championship after reaching the Final Four last season, coronavirus wiped out those dreams.
But Ionescu isn’t second-guessing her decision to skip the WNBA for a season, even as the coronavirus has forced league officials to hold a virtual draft instead of bringing the top prospects together.
The point guard will be at home with her family when her name is called, presumably by the New York Liberty, who have the first pick.
“I would say it was probably one of the best decisions of my life to come back,” Ionescu said. “Although there were many ups and downs, I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else besides there.
“Just being able to share that with the community, with the school, with my teammates for one last time was a blessing, I don’t regret anything about coming back to school even though we didn’t end up winning a national championship.”
The WNBA plans to honor Gigi Bryant during the draft. Gigi dreamed of one day becoming a star in the league, the female version of her five-time NBA champion father.
Ionescu will speak on Gigi’s behalf.
“It’s going to be awesome to share that special moment with them and the other girls that they’re going to be honoring as well,” Ionescu said. “Obviously, it’s going to be hard because they would normally be celebrating with me, probably in person. Just excited to know that they’re celebrating in a better place.”
———
©2020 The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)
Visit The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) at www.mercurynews.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.