Newly revealed injury explains Sabrina Ionescu's WNBA Finals struggles

Sabrina Ionescu didn't look like herself in the final two games of the WNBA Finals. While she did lead the New York Liberty to its first-ever WNBA Championship, she struggled greatly — everyone saw it but wasn't sure why.

In Game 3 she hit one of the most iconic shots that the WNBA has ever seen in playoff history — a game-winning, 28-foot 3-pointer to give New York a gritty win. That game she finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and six assists. Then Game 4 came along and she struggled big time — 5-for-15 from the field in Minnesota and only scoring 10 points.

It has now been reported that Ionescu suffered a high-grade UCL tear on her right shooting hand during Game 4.

Per Alexa Philippou of ESPN, Ionescu will not need surgery for the injury. She has covered her hand in a wrap and splint in recent days.

Sabrina Ionescu should be healthy and ready to go for the start of the 2025 WNBA season

In the winner-take-all Game 5 game for the championship, Ionescu was criticized harshly for her poor play. She had a 1-for-19 outing that also included a 1-for-10 performance from beyond the arc. While New York won 67-62 in overtime, Ionescu was the second-leading scorer in the playoffs with 16.9 points per game. In Game 5 she had seven rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one block, showing her ability to impact the game in other ways besides scoring.

The injury makes a lot of sense for the way Ionescu played towards the end of the playoff run. She had an outstanding regular season averaging 18.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game. She finished sixth in MVP voting, made the All-Star game, made the All-WNBA second team, finished fifth in the Most Improved Player voting and earned a gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games this summer.

Ionescu was looking to bounce back in this year's Finals compared to the 2023 season. The Liberty came up short to the Las Vegas Aces in 2023 and Ionescu had a series that she would want to forget, averaging 9.8 points over the four-game series. This time she averaged 12.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game in five games.