The New York Liberty stepped onto the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and completely overshadowed the festivities. After demolishing the Indiana Fever 98-77, they swept the floor here in the All-Star challenges. First was Natasha Cloud, who stormed through the Skills challenge with a blazing  34.1-second run, becoming just the second Liberty player in history to win this event. Now, it was Sabrina Ionescu’s turn to follow suit

And my word, did she live up to it. Taking part in the three-point challenge, the Liberty star was impeccable, grabbing 30 points, the second-highest ever in the history of the event, easily brushing aside her opponent, reigning champion Allisha Gray, who got 22. As Nike rightly put it on their socials, “Forecast in Indy says rain with a 100% chance of @sabrina_i20.” Ionescu will also take home a respectable $62,575 in prize money. Oops…sorry…not all of it.

It soon came to light that Saby has promised to give half of her prize money to a rookie. As National Sports reporter, Robert Lundberg, revealed on his X (formerly Twitter), “Sonia Citron is going to benefit from Sabrina Ionescu’s WNBA 3-Point Contest win.” Ionescu also gave a very touching explanation behind this gesture.

Sabrina Ionescu replayed the conversation between herself and Washington Mystics rookie, Sonia Citron. “Well, I told Sonia that I would give her half if I won,” Ionescu said. Why, you ask? “We were sitting on the bench, hers being the only rookie, and she was nervous, and I was nervous for her.” Talking about the jitters before heading to the first-ever All-Star event, the veteran promised the Mystics’ rookie by sharing half the prize money, in case she won.

And now she would fulfil her part of the ordeal. “So, I obviously have to hold my end of the bargain. Half is going to go up to her,” Sabrina told the media. “I have got to text her and let her know that I’m going to give her half of it just for participating. Like, that takes a lot of courage to be able to do that as a rookie, and what she did and I was really proud of her.”

Ionescu earned a total of $62,575 for winning the 3-point contest. While the WNBA had a fixed amount of $2,575 for the winning athlete, an insurance company called Alfac, which also happens to partner with the WNBPA, offered a lucrative sum worth $60K to Ionescu.

So, what will she do with her own half? It’s Sabrina Ionescu, people! Of course, she’ll do something noble. She announces, “And the other half will go to my foundation. To continue to be able to give back in communities. That means a lot to me.” Now that’s the kind of lady your mom tells you to marry.

Looking at the larger picture, this was a night to celebrate for the whole New York Liberty franchise.

New York Liberty writes history in the 2025 WNBA All-Star games

The New York Liberty made history today. Two of the franchise players, Sabrina Ionescu and Natasha Cloud, emerged as winners of Friday’s most pre-All-Star-game events. While Ionescu aced the 3-point challenge, Cloud dominated the Skills Challenge. And with this, the Liberty became the third team in the league to include multiple champions in the Skills Challenge.

Having said that, Natasha Cloud finished the first round within 34.1 seconds. But the second round was slightly difficult for the Liberty star. However, she managed to gain a narrow 1.1-second edge and managed to toppled the fan-favorite Erica Wheeler with an impressive 36.4 seconds under her belt.

The Liberty will take home a staggering cash prize of $57,575. Not a bad pay day, eh? Similar to Ionescu’s case, the WNBA will pay a total of $2,575, with the rest coming from Aflac, bringing the total to $57,575. Tasha also revealed that the cash prize was a major motivation to go out there and win.

“But this is for our family,” Natasha revealed. “[Harrison] over here told me, I better win today for a down payment on a house. So, baby you’re going to get that house!” Cloud had made a promise to the love of her life, Isabelle Harrison, that she would get the prize money for their dream home. Spoiler alert! She did live up to it.

With Liberty stars writing history at the All-Star event, the franchise would hope that their season follows a similar trajectory.