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Chelsea Gray Thinks Sabrina Ionescu Has What It Takes

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 06: Sabrina Ionescu #20 of the Oregon Ducks reacts after a teammate hit a 3-pointer against the Utah Utes during the Pac-12 Conference women’s basketball tournament quarterfinals at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on March 6, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks defeated the Utes 79-59. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The production of the 2020 WNBA draft made it clear that the stage belonged to Sabrina Ionescu, as a stream of feature videos and pre-prepared Ionescu-to-the-Liberty content followed New York’s selection of the Oregon star. It almost felt like the actual draft only began after Ionescu was picked first overall — when the prospect of uncertainty was introduced for the first time.

That is why it may have come as a surprise when WNBA legends, and UConn teammates for two years, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi openly debated who from this year’s draft class would have the best career in a wide-ranging discussion on Instagram Live.

In addition to all their other credentials, like Ionescu, both were drafted first overall when they entered the league. So when they hopped on Instagram to deliver hot takes, people listened.

Bird said her top two were Chennedy Carter, drafted fourth overall to the Atlanta Dream, and Satou Sabally, Ionescu’s Oregon teammate taken second by the Dallas Wings. Taurasi chose Ionescu.

“Sabrina did all the things in college that you and me did,” Taurasi said.

The Los Angeles Sparks’ Chelsea Gray, however, would tend to side with Taurasi. The Duke product came into the league as the 11th overall pick, having to spend time in a role off the bench until breaking out in 2017 with her first of three consecutive All-Star appearances.

Put three guards in a room and there won’t likely be much agreement on anything. That both Gray and Taurasi came away from the draft thinking Ionescu was the best in the class speaks volumes.

“I look at her game from a point guard’s perspective, and to achieve triple-doubles the way she does? That’s not an easy thing to do,” Gray told Just Women’s Sports. “You have to fight for rebounds and go take them from post players. That’s hard. And you have to rely on your teammates to make shots for you to get assists.”

“You can control your points, but sometimes you have an off day,” Gray added. “What she was able to do is so difficult, you really have to appreciate the way she plays the game.”

Ionescu finished her Oregon career with an NCAA-record 26 career triple-doubles. In the WNBA, the feat has historically been much more difficult to accomplish, with only nine ever recorded in the league’s 23 seasons.

While acknowledging that the WNBA is a different level from the college game, especially considering the adjustments that come with playing against teams with in-depth scouting, Gray is betting on Ionescu.

“I think she’s capable of succeeding at the highest level.”

To her credit, Ionescu had phenomenal games even against schools and coaches known for their scouting. Hall of Fame head coach at Stanford Tara VanDerveer saw Ionescu quite a bit and always struggled to contain her.

Ionescu is coming into a difficult environment in New York. The franchise had the opportunity to draft her first overall by virtue of a 10-24 record last year. It will be a challenge to find success immediately.

For comparison, Bird was drafted by a Seattle Storm team that went 10-22 the year prior and won her first championship in year three. When the Phoenix Mercury took Taurasi in 2004, it was coming off an 8-26 record in 2003. In season four, the Mercury and Taurasi each had their first championship.

So, whatever the case, it would be fair to allow Ionescu time to acclimate in the league. Then again, she joined an Oregon team that had not made a tournament appearance since 2005, had not won a Pac-12 regular season title since 2000, and had never advanced past the first week of March Madness. But in just her freshman season the Ducks made the first of three consecutive trips to the Elite Eight. By the end of her sophomore season, they had won the Pac-12. And during Ionescu’s junior year, Oregon was a Final Four team for the first time in school history. In her senior year, Matthew Knight Arena was consistently selling out and Oregon was the talk of national media.

It’s that kind of transformative potential that Gray was referring to when she said Ionescu is a great player.

“She’s done something very special at the University of Oregon,” Gray said. “She’s lifted up every single athlete that she’s played with and made that university a household name. That’s something that you really appreciate.”

Now, the challenge for Ionescu is to not just live up to but somehow try and exceed the lofty expectations surrounding her professional career. Ever since the Liberty faced the Sparks in Los Angeles for the league’s inaugural game, the two franchises have played in front of some of the league’s largest media markets. But the Sparks have won three titles. The Liberty? Zero.

Gray, after four seasons in Southern California, offered Ionescu some advice on how to navigate the heightened scrutiny.

“I don’t want her to put so much pressure on herself because she’s such a big name already,” said Gray, who like Ionescu, went to high school in the East Bay. “She’s still going to be a rookie. I hope and I think she’s going to be great, but I just want her to play as freely as she did at Oregon, because all of these fans, and the fame… it puts a lot of weight on people.”

“I hope she doesn’t have that,” Gray added. “I hope she’s able to play free, play the game, and get triple-doubles. I hope she achieves at the highest level until she plays the Sparks. Then she can have a bad day.”

USC’s McKenzie Forbes: From Gap Year to the NCAA Tournament

As part of our 1-v-1 video series, USC’s India Otto sat down to interview her teammate McKenzie Forbes. 

Here are five things to know from our conversation with the graduate transfer from Folsom, California.

#1 Inspired by USC’s Head Coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, McKenzie wants to be a basketball coach or work in the front office in the future.

When weighing in on what makes a good coach, McKenzie said x’s and o’s are important but “Coaching is a lot of relationship managing and people managing. I think you have to be a good people person and be able to build those relationships, but also in that same breath, you can’t be afraid to have people dislike you in moments. I think that’s a big part of leadership.”

#2 McKenzie says the trajectory of her career changed when she made the decision to transfer from Cal to Harvard.

 In order to transfer, she was forced to take a gap year and spend a lot of time in the gym. “I completely transformed my body and, going into the Harvard season, felt like I was a completely different player. Going to Harvard and playing in a more mid-major conference, I had the ball in my hands a lot more than I might have if I transferred to another Power 5. It really developed other parts of my game.”

#3 How does McKenzie think USC will do in the Women’s College Basketball Tournament?

“I’m not going to give a typical interview answer. I want a Final Four. We have that potential and capability. Like why not? Why not us? I think we have all the pieces.”

#4 Her older brother, Marcus, was her biggest mentor growing up.

“He was basically my trainer from Elementary school on until he went to college.”

#5 Fun facts about Forbes:

She can juggle and she was the quarterback of her Pop Warner football team. “I was slow but I could throw it!”

Watch the full conversation on the Just Women’s Sports YouTube channel.

Christen Press back training with Angel City FC

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Christen Press #23 of Angel City FC waves to fans following a game between the Portland Thorns and Angel City FC at BMO Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)

Christen Press continues to inch her way back to a return, having returned to training with her club team Angel City. 

Angel City FC coach Becki Tweed said on Wednesday that Press is back with the team full-time as she continues to make her way back from an ACL injury. While she’s still working on rehab, her being back with the team gives staff a better picture of her progress. 

"Christen [Press] is back with us full time which is amazing,” she said. “Having her in and around the team every day, continuing to work hard on rehab ... she's in a space where being in with the team is really important to her and her progression as well.”

The status update comes days after Press posted videos to social media that featured her doing lateral movement in cleats on grass. 

“Look out world she’s on the move !” Press captioned it. 

Press has been sidelined with an ACL injury since 2022, which caused her to miss the 2023 World Cup. She’s since had four separate surgeries to help repair her ACL.

Press told The Athletic a month ago that she’s been “relentless” in her optimism with her recovery despite it being a “slow process.”

“I have a bit of relentless optimism,” she told The Athletic. “I never, ever doubted that I would make it back on any of the timelines I’ve been on."

"Every single time I’ve heard, ‘You have to have surgery,’ I’m completely shocked,” she said. “When somebody asks me how it’s going, I’m like, ‘It’s going great. And it was going great every time. So I don’t know what to tell you anymore!’”

Sophia Smith re-signs with Portland on record deal

(Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports)

Sophia Smith is now the NWSL’s highest-paid player. 

The Portland Thorns announced on Wednesday that they have signed Smith to a new contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the team did reveal that Smith is now the highest-paid player in the league on an annual basis.

It’s the latest in what has been a series of record-breaking contracts in the NWSL offseason. 

Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson, Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji, and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda all signed multi-year deals worth between $2 million and $2.5 million in total. While Smith’s contract is shorter and not worth as much over the long-term, the annual worth is higher. 

“We are over the moon to have Soph commit again to the Thorns. She is a proven, world-class talent and one that we are excited to have contribute to the team’s continued success,” said head coach Mike Norris in a statement. “We look forward to working with her in a Thorns jersey as she continues to shine as one of the top strikers in the world.”

In just four seasons in the NWSL, Smith has led the Thorns to five trophies – including the 2022 NWSL championship – while winning league and championship MVP in 2022. In 61 appearances with Portland, she has 34 goals – including a brace to start this season against Kansas City. 

She’s also a member of the USWNT, having scored 16 goals in 44 international appearances.  Set to become a free agent at the end of this season, she told ESPN she “thought of all the options” but ultimately Portland felt like the right decision.

"There is no place like Portland," Smith said in a small roundtable interview that included ESPN. "I don't believe there's an environment like Portland to play in and it's a city that's so special to me and a city that I feel like I've grown up in almost and become who I am."

She also told ESPN that the team’s new ownership “changes everything.” The club is now led by the Bhathal family, who bought the club after Merritt Paulson was forced to sell it following his part in the NWSL’s abuse scandal. 

"Since I've been here there has been a lot of things going on with this club -- a lot of not-great things going on with this club -- and I have just been waiting for some stability and some reassurance that this club is headed in the right direction, and the Bhathal family coming in is doing exactly that, if not more,” Smith said. 

"Their vision for this club is so exciting, and you can just tell how passionate they are about making this what it should be and continuing to push the standard in women's soccer globally.”

Caitlin Clark offered $5 million to compete in Ice Cube’s league

IOWA CITY, IOWA- MARCH 25: Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates as time runs out in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during their second round match-up in the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Championship at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 25, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark has been offered $5 million to play in Ice Cube's Big3 league, he confirmed on social media Wednesday after the offer leaked.

"We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship," Ice Cube wrote on social media. "But I won't deny what's now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn't we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."

While there has yet to be a women's player in the league, both Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie have been part of the league as coaches and won championships.

"The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men's pro team, and she won the championship in her first year," Ice Cube continued. "Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes."

Ice Cube, whose name is O’Shea Jackson, says that the offer was made with the intention that Clark be able to compete in the WNBA “offseason.” Clark is largely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in April. But it’s unclear how the scheduling of the two leagues would work. 

The 2024 Big3 season is set to tip off on June 15, with 10 games spanning through mid-August. The WNBA regular season, meanwhile, begins on May 14 and ends on Sept. 19.

On “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Jackson said that the league has yet to hear back from Clark. 

“We just need an answer, as soon as they are ready to give it to us,” he said. “It’s always 50-50 till we get a no. At the end of the day, it’s a generous offer.”

The offer – as well as the confusion on Jackson’s part about the timing of the WNBA season – caused some current WNBA players to react. 

"It's funny cause I be seeing his son at W games.. they don't talk?" wrote former No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard

"So no other women's basketball player has came to mind in the last 7 years?" wrote Lexie Brown, adding that she'd support if Ice Cube wanted to build a women's iteration of the league. She later discussed it on the Gils Arena Show, noting that his reasoning of wanting to “uplift and support WNBA players and women athletes” is a “cop out.”

Kalani Brown, meanwhile, told Clark to "take that money" and start a women's Big3.

WNBA salaries has been a talking point in recent months as more collegiate stars declare for the league. WNBA stars have often made more money playing abroad than they have in the WNBA. Clark is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 15, with a rookie salary of $76,535 for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1-4) that rises to $97,582 by her fourth season. But she also has an NIL valuation of almost $3.5 million.

Diana Taurasi famously skipped the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian club, who paid her more to sit out than she would have made in the W. Her contract with the club was reportedly near $1.5 million per year.

Jackson also seemed to suggest that his league could be an alternative to going abroad

“America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet,” he wrote. Although it’s unclear whether or not the rapper intends to make offers to additional WNBA players. 

While the league does hold prioritization rules in its CBA, those typically apply only to players playing in overseas leagues. It’s unclear whether or not that would prevent Clark’s participation in the Big3 league.

WNBA players that don’t want to go overseas currently have the option of playing in Athletes Unlimited, which competes in the WNBA offseason.

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