Eugene, Oregon declares May 12th as 'Sabrina Ionescu Day'

Sabrina Ionescu left Oregon as the best player in program history in now becoming one of the best players in the WNBA. Now, in her return to Eugene tomorrow night, the city is welcoming her back with a major honor.

The New York Liberty will play the Toyota Antelopes as part of the preseason on Monday night in Matthew Knight Arena. With that, Mayor Kaarin Knudson came to their practice today in the facility to announce in front of the team that she would be proclaiming May 12th as ‘Sabrina Ionescu Day’ in the city of Eugene.

Eugene, OR will now recognize May 12th as Sabrina Ionescu Day 👏🦆 pic.twitter.com/6uWlKw7Cwn

— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) May 12, 2025

“Thank you very much. I appreciate this. I never thought that I would be in a position to have a day named after me so this is pretty special,” said Ionescu after the day was declared in her honor. “To be able to give back to the University of Oregon, this community that has meant so much to me and allowed me to be where I’m at now in my professional career and give back to the next little Sabrina that’s running around here in Eugene. So, thank you very much for this and thank you guys.”

Ionescu spent four collegiate seasons at Oregon from 2016 to 2020. She, during that career with the Ducks in which she played 142 games, averaged 18 points (45.5% FG, 42.2% 3PT on 2.3 makes), 7.7 assists, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. That would earn her honors as a three-time AP All-American, a two-time winner of the Wooden Award, a Naismith Award Winner, and AP Player of the Year in 2020 along with multiple recognitions in the Pac-12, including being Pac-12 Player of the Year three times.

With that, Oregon went 120-26 (.822) in her career for the best span in school history. The Ducks would win five conference titles, three in the regular season and two in the league tournament, with a pair of trips to the Elite Eight and one to the Final Four. Another deep run in March Madness could be part of that history had the pandemic not cancelled the 2020 NCAA Tournament in what was the senior season for Ionescu.

From there, the Liberty would select Ionescu with the No. 1 pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft. That’s led to a pro career where she’s posted 16.3 points (40.5% FG, 36.4% 3PT on 2.7 makes), 6.0 assists, and 5.6 rebounds where she’s since been a three-time selection both as an All-Star as well as All-WNBA. That includes last season where she, along with Brenna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, helped lead New York to win their first-ever WNBA Championship. That’s not to mention her international career which, as of last summer, also features a gold medal for her on the women’s national team in the 2024 Olympics.

Ionescu has been one of the best players in all of women’s basketball over the past decade from her collegiate career to her professional one. That, ahead of her homecoming to playing at Oregon, has led to this latest recognition for what all she represents to Eugene.