Sabrina Ionescu is putting her money where her mouth is after winning another WNBA 3-Point Contest.
On July 17, the 27-year-old New York Liberty star became only the second WNBA player in history to win the competition more than once (Allie Quigley won four times between 2017—2022).
After breaking WNBA and NBA records with a historic 37-point win in 2023, Ionescu went on another unbelievable shooting run in Indianapolis, hitting 11 shots in a row and scoring a total of 30 points in the final—eight more than defending champion Allisha Gray.
And yet, the Liberty point guard did more than take home another trophy, she also added to her legacy as a mentor and leader in the WNBA. In a post-competition press conference, Ionescu revealed she plans to give half her winnings to 21-year-old Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron, a first-time All-Star and the only rookie to compete in one of Friday’s skills competitions. She says the other half of the $62,575 check will go to her SI20 Foundation.
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“I told Sonia that I would give her half if I won when we were sitting on the bench,” Ionescu told reporters, per one video shared by Bleacher Report. “As being, like, the only rookie…She was nervous, and I was nervous for her. I obviously have to hold up my end of the bargain, so half is gonna go to her.”
She continued, “I gotta text her and let her know that I’m gonna give her half of it. Just for participating, like, that takes a a lot of courage to be able to do that as a rookie…and I was really proud of her.”
Citron recently graduated from University of Notre Dame and was the third overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft. “I’m definitely stressed about it,” Citron told WNBA legend Sue Bird on the Bird’s Eye View podcast prior to the competition. “They asked, and I was like, ‘This is going to give me a lot of anxiety.’ But it’s going to be a really cool experience, and I would rather do it than not do it and regret, like, what if?”
She added, “So, yeah, I’m definitely very nervous about it. But like you said, I’m just gonna go out, hopefully I don’t brick every shot, and maybe I’ll win.” Citron definitely did not “brick every shot,” though she did come in fifth place with 19 points in the first round.
Of course, Sabrina Ionescu isn’t the only one doing big things with her WNBA All-Star Weekend winnings. It was a New York Liberty sweep on Friday night, with Natasha Cloud winning the Kia WNBA Skills Challenge earlier in the evening. Cloud plans to invest her prize money into her future with girlfriend and teammate Izzy Harrison.
“This is for our family,” she said in a post-challenge interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe. “This momma over here told me I better win today for a downpayment on a house, so baby, you’re gonna get that house.”
I’m not crying about women’s basketball, YOU’RE crying about women’s basketball. You can watch some of these players compete in the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game on July 19 at 8:30 pm ET. Ionescu and Citron will play for Team Clark, while Kelsey Plum and Allisha Gray hope to bring home a win for Team Collier.
