Nike Sabrina 2 The Latest Evolution of Sabrina Ionescu’s Game

This story appears in SLAM KICKS 27. Get your copy here.

There is a special group of current NBA players who are Nike athletes with signature sneaker lines: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker and Ja Morant. An argument can be made that none of those future Hall of Famers has the best Nike shoe on the market at this exact moment. There is a strong case that Sabrina Ionescu, the New York Liberty shooter, currently holds the heavyweight belt.

Ionescu took the hoops world in college and put together one of the best freshman careers ever. He was the first player in NCAA history with 2,000+ career points, 1,000+ career rebounds and 1,000+ career assists; broke the NCAA record three times; broke the Pac-12’s all-time assist record (RIP)…and that’s just a few of his many accomplishments while playing for Phil Knight’s pride and joy, the University of Oregon.

Sabrina has been killing trash for a long time, and it’s scary to think she’s just getting started. She has proven that she belongs in any conversation when it comes to celebrities, male or female. She also confirmed that there, after setting the all-time record for the WNBA All-Star Weekend Three-Point Contest in 2023, she met Stephen Curry at this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend.

Ionescu fell just short of Curry’s 3-pointer in the first-ever NBA vs WNBA Three-Point Contest, but even a blind man saw that Ionescu was where she belonged—under the bright lights, front and center on the basketball court. . , representing a group of women who have arrived and a group of young girls on the way.

“Just to be able to have it be the first of this kind of event and come out here to play a game but I understand what this means,” said Ionescu. “I’m excited to change the narrative and be able to do it in line with the biggest thing I’ve done.”

It wasn’t just Ionescu’s sweet hitting that caught the eye of the spectators; his kicks did, too. He was sporting his Nike Sabrina 1 in a clean Liberty colorway.

On several occasions, Ionescu addressed the concept of Sabrina 1s including a story about disrespecting those who doubted her ability to play basketball, let alone boys, when she was growing up.

Well, he agreed. With the Sabrina 1s, Nike and Ionescu laid the foundation for the gold mine of his signature line, as they quickly became some of the most popular on the court among the basketball community.

“It’s not a women’s basketball shoe or a men’s basketball shoe, it’s just basketball,” Ionescu said on ESPN this year, when describing the Sabrina 1s. “To be able to tell that story and get people to really buy into it and respect that, I think the time is now about wanting to push it.”

Wherever you look(ed)—high school, college, WNBA, NBA, your local basketball gym—you’re sure to see a fair share of feet in a variety of Sabrina 1 colorways. In the 2023-24 NBA, players who have logged a total of 17,209 minutes played in silhouette.

And if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Ionescu and Nike take it back and run it.

Sabrina and the Swoosh launched Ionescu’s second sneaker, the Nike Sabrina 2, and a clothing collection this past June. Instead of a complete overhaul of the design, they build on the original silhouette, keeping the same shape, cut and cushion.

“At the heart of the collection is the signature Sabrina 2 sneaker, designed for players who want to accelerate and cut fast,” the brand said. “Nike’s design teams worked closely with Sabrina to combine the best of the Sabrina 1 with new enhancements that create a boot that’s 28 grams lighter and doesn’t sacrifice support, stability or comfort.”

Some of these “new upgrades” include the Cushlon 3.0 foam midsole (a first for a Nike Basketball shoe), the Nike Zoom Air Unit in the forefoot, an updated midfoot band system and a new “S” inspired pattern that provides multidirectional traction to cut quickly. Additionally, select colors will feature finished Swooshes on display, which Nike describes as “a guarantee from Sabrina to the next generation of shoe vision.”

At first glance at Sabrina 2, and even Sabrina 1, it’s clear where Ionescu’s inspiration came from. Two indoor sneakers, and his signature line has been compared early on to Kobe Bryant’s.

Throughout his storied college career and early years with the Liberty, Kobes was Ionescu’s sneakerhead. The fact that Ionescu’s line is said in the same breath as Bean’s says a lot about the WNBA All-Star’s cultural appeal, but more importantly, her ability and commitment to leading a campaign to elevate the women’s game nationally, and ultimately, globally. to relate. It’s a vision he and Kobe share.

Ionescu first met Kobe in 2019 when he and his daughter Gigi turned up to watch his Ducks dismantle the USC Trojans. Ionescu developed a close relationship with the Bryant family soon after. Kobe kept his eye on him throughout the season, often sending words of encouragement as he continued to write his name in the history books. That summer, Ionescu trained with Gigi and even helped Kobe train his girls’ team, of which Gigi was a member.

“If I were to represent the current women’s game, Gigi would be the future, and Kobe would be,” Ionescu said during a tribute to Kobe and Gigi’s Celebration of Life in 2020.

It’s more than four years later, and Ionescu still “represents the present.” And at just 26, he represents the future, too. Imagine Kobe rocking the No. 8 looking for purple and gold.

“I grew up watching Kobe Bryant game after game, crying after crying, living his greatness without apology,” he remembers. “I wanted to be like him, love every part of the competition, be the first to show up and last to go, love to grind, be your best when you don’t feel better and do something else. the people around you are the best version of themselves. And get up and do it again the next day. So that’s what I did: Get up, grind and get better. Get up, grind and be better.”

If you see Ionescu walking in the tunnel before a game, scroll through his Instagram feed or see his demeanor during interviews, you will see an endearing personality that everyone loves to be around. But beneath that is a fierce competitor who approaches his work with great determination and focus, with a long list of results to show for it.

As we head into the Olympic break, the New York Liberty are firing on all cylinders and have the best record in the W by a comfortable margin. Ionescu averaged 19.8 points, 6.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1 steal while playing a career-high 33.7 minutes per game.

Ionescu’s influence at court is undeniable, and his influence at court is equally powerful. On the heels of the Sabrina 1 and the recent release of the Sabrina 2, she continues to push boundaries and create waves for those coming after her, such as Nike signature athletes A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark—each of whom reported that their first signature sneaker is coming soon.

Ionescu is destined for greatness—all he has to do is continue to be confident and unapologetic about who he is and what he brings to the table, just like Kobe.

Ionescu is a blessing to the game of basketball, and his presence will outlast his playing days, just like Kobe.

At one point in college, she said Kobe texted her. “Be yourself, that was good enough, and that will continue to be good enough.” He wasn’t lying.

“I wanted to be part of the generation that changed basketball for Gigi and his colleagues,” said Ionescu in his speech, “when being born a woman did not mean being born behind, when greatness was not divided by gender.”

From her constant performances to the huge success of Sabrina 1 and now 2, there doesn’t seem to be any heights Ionescu can’t reach. For the younger generation that was not lucky enough to watch Kobe in real time, just look at how Ionescu, one of his closest teachers, destroys his opponents with an endless desire to succeed.

And in her new Sabrina 2, she’ll look great doing it.

Photos via Getty Images and Nike.