Sabrina Ionescu has stepped into the limelight once again!! The 27-year-old New York Liberty star is shining ever so brightly in the latest Nike advertisement. But she is not alone, as featuring alongside her in this advertisement is coach Steve Nash. The duo came together for the limited edition Sabrina 3 ‘Blueprint’ shoes. Ionescu and Nash featured in a retro-themed ad in a work-in-progress basketball court, with the latter playing the role of a friendly narrator.

While Ionescu is dribbling the ball around the court in her new Nike shoes, Nash is taking the viewers on a tour. This tour metaphorically represents the work they have put into the shoes. The limited-edition Sabrina 3 ‘Blueprint’ shoes are currently on sale on the official Nike website for a price of $135. Talking about the shoes, Ionescu said, “I know every single basketball player who puts on the Sabrina 3 will continue to see and feel the work that we’ve put in to create the best performance shoe that we can.” 

The Liberty player felt her journey with Nike would give young girls who look up to her to forge their own legacy. The shoe in itself is a marvel. The embroidery and textile on top of the shoe are a subtle nod to Sabrina’s Romanian heritage. While the shoe, loaded with features, is no doubt worthy of selling itself on its own, Ionescu left no stone unturned to promote it.

The 3-point queen brought a pair alongside herself to The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. Sharing the screen with industry heavyweight Adam Sandler, she didn’t forget to gift him a pair. Just after that, Sandler proved why he is a serious baller too. The Hollywood actor put the limited edition Sabrina 3 ‘Blueprint’ shoes on immediately. “Oh, these are light. Nice!” was his first thought after wearing them. However, there is still one issue that blocks Ionescu from shining.

Is Sabrina Ionescu finally getting the limelight she deserves?

The WNBA is currently overrun by the younger rookie class. With each new season, eyes are turning towards the newer players who are joining the league. Even now, most of the media attention is directed towards Clark, Reese, and Bueckers, to name a few. No doubt the shoes are great, but are they Ionescu’s path to glory? Sabrina Ionescu has been performing well in the league for a long time. She is arguably one of the best 3-point shooters in the W. Furthermore, her consistency was what brought the New York Liberty to victory in 2024. She averaged 18.2 points with a high three-point percentage of 33.3%. This means she was scoring every three shots attempted. These are phenomenal numbers for a WNBA player who plays in high-pressure games.

But the limelight she deserves still eluded her. Talking about her new line of shoes, they can be the back door to her success. Nike and Sabrina are targeting these new shoes to be the “New go-to sneakers” for the hoopers. Like the Kobe and Jordan lineup, these shoes do have the potential to become a household name. Ionescu shared these thoughts while on the Jimmy Fallon show. “It creates the opportunity for young girls and boys growing up now to hope and dream of wanting to become a signature athlete because they see us all do it on the court and support one another,” she said. The WNBA star shared how growing up, she wore Kobe Bryant’s and Kevin Durant’s basketball shoes. Keeping her lineups alongside those legends was surely a dream come true for Ionescu. But the rookie class is also catching up to the kicks game.

Caitlin Clark also has her own personalized Nike Kobe V Protro selling as a hot commodity. Furthermore, the Indiana Fever player also has one more lineup with Nike in the pipeline. On the other hand, Angel Reese has gone the other way to shake hands with Reebok. She has brought out Angel Reese 1 Mebounds, which has gotten a stellar reaction from the community. With her lineup, Sabrina Ionescu is also stepping further into the limelight. But she would have to worry about the newer players quickly catching up.