After helping Liberty to a WNBA Playoff berth, Sabrina Ionescu captures second Player of the Month honor
The WNBA announced on Tuesday that New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu has been named the Kia WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for August. It’s her second POTM honor this season (June 2022) and her sixth total award of the year—she has also been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week four times.
Ionescu led New York to a 5-2 record in the month of August. That stretch of play was good enough to secure the Liberty the No. 7 seed in the 2022 WNBA Playoffs after it looked like they might fall out of the picture entirely in July.
The former Oregon guard averaged 19.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.6 assists a game across seven appearances in August.
They put the W on notice ALL MONTH LONG ‼@Teaira_15 and @sabrina_i20 are your @KIA #WNBA Players of the Month #MoreThan pic.twitter.com/WggGAeWUSC
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 16, 2022
She’s just the second player in Liberty franchise history to earn multiple Eastern Conference POTM honors in the same season, joining Tina Charles, who did it in 2016 and in 2017.
The All-Star guard had a phenomenal third season in the WNBA for the Liberty this year. She ended the regular season with averages of 17.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 6.3 assists a night while shooting 41% from the field, 33% from 3-point range, and 93% from the free throw line. She had five 30-point performances and two triple-doubles.
She finished the regular season seventh among all WNBA players in points per game, third in assists, and 12th in rebounding.
The Liberty will face the No. 2 seed and defending WNBA champion Chicago Sky in the first round of the WNBA Playoffs. The best-of-three series begins on Wednesday at 5 p.m. PT on ESPN.