Caitlin Clark named to All-WNBA First Team as Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu gets snubbed

MINNEAPOLIS — Being one of the key cogs on the WNBA’s best team during the regular season is quite a feat.

In the case of one Liberty star, it just isn’t enough to earn a spot on all-WNBA First Team.

Sabrina Ionescu received 15 First Team and 43 Second Team votes from the media and leads the Second Team in points with 204, missing the top team by 52 points.

This despite a season in which she finished in the top 10 in scoring per game, top 12 in field goals made, was fourth in 3-pointers made and fifth in assists per game.

The league announced the results Wednesday afternoon, before the Liberty faced the Lynx in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals, with the series tied 1-1. It is the third straight year Ionescu has been relegated to the Second Team.

Teammate Breanna Stewart, a two-time MVP, earned her sixth First Team award. She was joined by Lynx star and 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier, 2024 MVP A’ja Wilson of the Aces, Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark of the Fever and five-time All-Star Alyssa Thomas of the Sun. Liberty teammate Jonquel Jones joined Ionescu on the Second Team.

Players receive five points for First Team votes and three points for Second Team votes.

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Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) was named to the All-WNBA First Team as a rookie.NBAE via Getty Images
Clark got 52 of a possible 67 First Team votes and 302 total points. She became the first rookie since Candace Parker in 2008 to make the First Team.

“Obviously, any awards are great for our players. It’s great to see the three of them there,” head coach Sandy Brondello said before the game. “Kind of surprised Stewie got two Second Team votes. I won’t get into that anymore, but Sabrina, I thought she had a really good year. Could have gone to that First Team, but I think her first half of the year was wonderful. Suppose it took a bit of a dip when she had to sit out a few games and didn’t get a rhythm back, that maybe took her out a little bit. But overall, she’s had a great year and is a young player that continues to keep getting better and better.”

Ionescu has improved on her impressive season during the playoffs.

She averaged 18.2 points per game in the regular season, but she has upped that to 19.8 in the playoffs. Her rebounds are up from 4.4 to 5.0, her steals from 1.0 to 1.9, and she has improved her shooting — 39.4 to 45.5 from the field, 33.3 to 43.9 on 3-pointers and 89.8 to 91.3 at the free-throw line.

But it isn’t her First Team snub that has fueled the extra production.

“No, I just found out yesterday,” Ionescu said at the Liberty shootaround on Wednesday at Target Center, when asked if her snub has been playoff motivation. “I don’t, to be honest, really care about any of those types of awards. Just want to be the best that I can and help my team win, regardless of first team, second team, whatever it is.

“I think I understand what I bring to this team and obviously to this league. Regardless of that, I just want to be my best every single night. So, obviously, I’m thankful and honored for that award I got. But, obviously, I want to be the best and show up like that every night.”

Ionescu addressed the news in a somewhat disappointed tone when reflecting on her strong season.

The 2020 No. 1-overall pick ranked ninth in points per game in the league this season (18.2) and fifth in assists per game (6.2).

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Sabrina Ionescu #20 of the New York Liberty is interviewed by Holly Rowe before the game against the Minnesota Lynx during Game Three of the 2024 WNBA Finals on October 16, 2024.NBAE via Getty Images
She was more dominant in the first half of the season, before the monthlong Olympic break that saw her win her first gold medal, which may have hurt her in the voting.

In July, she was averaging 23.2 points and was shooting 42 percent from the field.

She added a rim threat to her game, scoring more from inside the paint than out, which was a big focus during the offseason for the 5-foot-11 guard to avoid being what she called “one dimensional.”

In September, during the regular season, her numbers dipped down to just 12.3 points per game and she was shooting 30 percent both overall and from beyond the arc.

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Sabrina Ionescu #20 of the New York Liberty reacts to the win over the Minnesota Lynx during Game 2 of the 2024 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center
However, things quickly took a turn in the playoffs, especially when she scored a playoff career-high 36 points in Game 2 against the Dream in the first round.

Twenty-one of those points were also from inside the paint.

The three-time All-Star is averaging 19.8 points in the playoffs on 45 percent shooting — a significant jump from the Liberty’s playoff run to the finals in 2023 that saw Ionescu shoot just 39 percent from the field and average 13 points.

In the four games it took the Aces to put away the Liberty in the WNBA Finals a year ago, she averaged just 9.8 points and was overwhelmed by the Aces backcourt of Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young.

This year, she has found her spots and has been competitive with Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride of the Lynx.

Ionescu is currently averaging 17 points, four assists, and three steals against the Lynx in the best-of-five series, which is tied 1-1.