From screaming in a voice memo to screaming on FaceTime.
New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu told Complex Sports on Monday that, outside of family members, she responded right away to only one person who reached out after Sunday's WNBA championship triumph: Steph Curry.
Ionescu detailed a celebratory FaceTime call she shared with her close friend and mentor.
"I was able to FaceTime him for like five seconds. I could barely hear him, it was loud," Ionescu said. "But we just kind of started screaming and celebrating together.
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. >Sign up here.
"That one means a lot to me just because of his mentorship and knowing he's been here, and he's been rooting for me this entire season. So that's kind of the only person that I responded to right away."
Sabrina says the only person she responded to other than her family was Steph Curry 🤝🥹🗽🖤 pic.twitter.com/kQPVYLkJvC
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) October 21, 2024
Those weren't the first celebratory screams that the Golden State Warriors star let out for Ionescu during the 2024 WNBA Finals, either.
After winning Game 3 for the Liberty with an iconic step-back from just inside the logo, Ionescu was asked to name a favorite congratulatory message that she had gotten. And the three-time WNBA All-Star brought up a passionate voice memo from Curry.
"I would say Steph," Ionescu said on ESPN's "NBA Today" on Oct. 17. "Steph Curry left me a really funny voice memo of him just like screaming into the phone. And that was funny because we've just had a great relationship and he's been a big mentor of mine, and obviously through these Finals, just helping me mentally and physically stay ready and locked in."
While Ionescu had a couple of rough shooting games to close out the Finals, she played a pivotal role in New York capturing the original WNBA franchise's first-ever championship. Ionescu, who finished sixth in regular-season MVP voting, averaged 16.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists across 11 postseason games as the top-seeded Liberty swept the Atlanta Dream, eliminated the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces and outlasted the second-seeded Minnesota Lynx in a thrilling Finals.
