“Being able to see a lot of young girls pick up a basketball and dream of wanting to do it because they are able to watch you do it is always a moment,” says New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu on the rise of women’s sports. Photographed by Aviegail Landicho of Chapters PH
The Olympic medalist and New York Liberty guard’s three-day tour in the Philippines was a showcase of movement, not just in basketball, but in culture, mentorship, and making space for the next generation
For New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, space isn’t about isolation, it’s about creation. Since entering the WNBA, the California-born athlete has been in constant motion, creating space where there was none: on the court, in the record books, and in the broader conversation around women’s sports. “All I wanted was space. I found it in the game,” she once said in a 2021 Nike G.T. Cut campaign.
On the court, Ionescu has never played quietly. As of the 2024 WNBA season, she has accumulated 2,337 career points over 143 regular-season games. She is a WNBA champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and a three-time All-WNBA honoree. This trajectory, along with the growing viewership of the WNBA, averaging 1.2 million views per game, reflects the increasing momentum in women’s basketball.
That impact isn’t just in the numbers. In her recent Nike “So Win” campaign with fellow athletes Jordan Chiles, A’ja Wilson, Sophia Smith, and Sha’Carri Richardson, a clip of Ionescu screaming flashes across the screen: a raw, unfiltered statement, reinforcing that women’s sports deserve a place, she’s making sure women athletes are heard.
But in a career about creating space and constant movement, does stillness even exist? For Ionescu, there’s only one place where everything quiets down.
“The court is kind of the time that I feel the most still and, honestly, probably think the least,” she shared in an exclusive interview with Vogue Philippines during her first-ever world tour (and the first for a female athlete under Nike’s roster). “That is probably what makes it just feel really peaceful. [It’s] a time where I can work on my craft.”
During her three-day tour of Manila and Bulacan, Ionescu was introduced to a different way of playing the game. At Smart Araneta Coliseum, she encountered the PBA’s four-point line, a unique and newly-introduced rule in Philippine basketball league. In the first half of her showcase, she stuck to her signature three-pointers. By the second half, the WNBA champion tested her range, eventually sinking four-pointers, her first met with roaring cheers from the crowd.
Together with Nike, Ionescu’s visit to the country was also about moving through different spaces: mentoring young athletes, engaging with the creatives of Titan by launching the limited edition of the Sabrina 2, and immersing in Filipino traditions.
She rode a jeepney to a skills training session with Her Hoops and The Courtyard Ballers at The Courtyard in BGC. She also dined on Filipino cuisine served on banana leaves and joined a community fiesta in Barangay Caysio. She even tried tinikling, a traditional folk dance with bamboo poles, that, like basketball, requires precision, agility, and rhythm.
“In my time in Manila, hopefully [it] can touch some people’s lives and kind of understand that it’s bigger than basketball. The ripple effect is [that] you want to continue to tell your story, but shape and change someone’s life for them to help the next generation.”
Ionescu’s influence in women’s sports has been anchored in advocacy and opportunity. In the 2025 Sabrina Manila Tour, that mission became tangible with the unveiling of two Girls Got Game Philippines courts in Bulacan, a space designed to encourage young girls to claim their place in basketball.
For three days, a familiar sight followed her: children and aspiring athletes gathered around her, eager to learn, to watch, and to be a part of the game. From the courts of BGC to the coliseum in Manila and finally to Bulacan, she moved through each space with young girls looking on, not just as spectators, but as future players.
“Anytime you realize how you can impact and change someone’s life, especially the younger generation, it’s always rewarding to see the work that you put in [make a difference]. I’ll continue to advocate for that,” she said.
Check about.nike.com/stories for behind-the-scenes coverage of Nike signature athlete Sabrina Ionescu’s tour of Asia.
