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UPDATE Aug 1, 1:56 p.m.: ESPN is reporting Sabrina Ionescu suffered a grade 3 ankle sprain that, “usually requires months to fully heal.” The New York Liberty believe the injury will not require surgery.
Update 10:00 p.m.: Good news for the rookie and the Liberty:
X-rays on New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu’s left ankle returned negative and showed no fracture, source tells @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. The No. 1 pick suffered ankle sprain tonight.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 1, 2020
UPDATE 8:15 p.m.: The broadcast team reports it’s a sprained ankle for Ionescu (file this under duh), and that she’s undergoing X-rays.
With the New York Liberty matched up against the Atlanta Dream, about midway through the second quarter Sabrina Ionescu, the #1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft, rolled her ankle and had to be carried off the court.
Ionescu just rolled her ankle pretty hard pic.twitter.com/Ibb0ZTHi2Z
— CJ Fogler #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) July 31, 2020
She was hurt with 5:10 left in the second quarter, and had 10 points in 12 minutes on 4-5 shooting, along with a rebound, an assist, a steal, and a charge taken before going down. Add this to the 31-7-7 she had in the Liberty’s last game against the Dallas Wings Wednesday night.
Ionescu has been the most-exciting person in the bubble, playing with such intensity that it’s impossible to keep your eyes off her. Despitethe mistakes of a young team that’s finding its way, it’s clear this is is the next superstar in the sport, and a serious injury here would be terrible for the Liberty as they begin their rebuild this season.