What's Next for Sabrina Ionescu After Liberty's Playoff Exit as Free Agency, CBA Loom
The 2024 WNBA champion New York Liberty didn't have the same longevity in 2025 as the stress of a tight WNBA schedule made it difficult for them to recover from injuries. Ultimately, that was a factor in their premature exit from the WNBA playoffs. Their No. 5 seeding put them in a tough spot, having to play the Phoenix 27-17 Mercury in the first round.
Breanna Stewart's knee sprain in Game 1 versus the Mercury hurt the team as a whole. In the decisive Game 3 loss, 55 combined points from Stewart and Ionescu weren't enough to overcome a triple-double from Alyssa Thomas.
It was going to be a tough battle, and with so much parity in the WNBA, it says more about the competition than the ousted team when an elimination happens.
With about 80 percent of the league set to become free agents this offseason, eyes will be on the Liberty's 2020 No. 1 overall pick, Sabrina Ionescu. She's slated to be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in her career, after extending her rookie contract in 2023.
Here's what could be in store for the 27-year-old this offseason.
Balancing Rest and Unrivaled
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Ionescu generally hasn't been one to play during the offseason. After being drafted in 2020, she only played 2.5 games as a rookie before suffering an injury that knocked her out until the beginning of the 2021 season. After that, she decided not to play overseas.
Then in 2025, Ionescu played in the Unrivaled league created by her teammate Breanna Stewart and Lynx star Napheesa Collier. She did not play the entire season, though, missing time for prearranged obligations. She has not confirmed whether she will play in the league for a second year, but either way, Ionescu will fit in some rest after this brutal WNBA season.
She suffered a toe injury late in the season that will need to fully heal after the grueling condensed schedule this season exhausted every player. She could opt out of Unrivaled entirely to give herself more time to prepare for the 2026 WNBA season.
Hearing Out All Free-Agency Offers
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While Ionescu has been candid about her desire to stay with the New York Liberty as a free agent, she could still take a few meetings. She is high on the list of sought-after free agents in the league, and as the WNBA expands, teams could have some intriguing offers.
One landing spot to keep in mind for Ionescu is the Golden State Valkyries. She was born and raised in the Bay Area, and a homecoming would be enjoyable from all sides.
Regardless, now may not be the time, though. The Valkyries are so new as a team, and competing for championships may be years away. Signing Ionescu would speed up that process, of course, but she may not be ready to lead an expansion team and could opt to sign with a sure-fire contender.
Getting Cored by the New York Liberty
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If the new WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement still includes the core designation, it could end up being placed on Ionescu. In the WNBA, a team can "core" one player at a time, retaining their sole negotiation rights and allowing them to sign said player at the supermax. Each player can only be cored twice, and each "coring" lasts the duration of that player's contract.
This takes control away from the players, which is why they may fight to exclude it from the next CBA. Players such as Breanna Stewart have mentioned signing one-year deals to "ride out the core." Elena Delle Donne opted to just not play the season and eventually retire when the Mystics cored her, as she did not want to return.
Now that Stewart's two cores are used, the Liberty could turn and use it on Ionescu. In doing so, they retain her sole rights, but she may then opt to sign one-year contracts to make the cores expire faster.
This all depends on whether coring even exists in the new CBA.
Off-Court Earning Means Wiggle Room On It
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While Ionescu would be entitled to the supermax if she is cored, she may not get to take it. Stewart never took the supermax during her cores, opting to take a lower salary so that the Liberty could sign all their player targets and stay under the WNBA's low and hard salary cap.
Stewart and Ionescu, if she is cored, have the business profiles to allow that. Ionescu made $222,060 in 2025 with the Liberty, but her Nike deal alone is worth a rumored $24 million.
That doesn't include other endorsements Ionescu has, or money she makes from Unrivaled or bonuses from the WNBA for awards and All-Star winnings.
She, out of everyone on that team, can take a hit to her salary as a cored player, but that just takes away one of the sole perks of the core for players. Still, she spends a big part of her offseason at Nike events, and releases/events for her signature shoes, the Nike Sabrinas.
Staying Warm During Potential Lockout, Strike
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The WNBA's contract with the players' association expires at the end of October, and the date is looming. Based on comments from the players, it seems like there isn't much progress being made in negotiations, either. We are at risk of a strike or lockout.
The players are fighting for things like better revenue share from the WNBA, increased salaries, better benefits and more. They have a ton of leverage, as the league has seen unprecedented growth in the past five years.
If there ends up being a lockout, players will need to hold tight and stay on their toes. In that case, maybe Ionescu would go play for Unrivaled, just to make sure she gets some run in while the lockout persists.
