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Current New York Liberty and former Oregon Ducks guard Sabrina Ionescu understands what it means to be both an NBA 2K cover athlete and to have her own signature shoe.
When Chicago Sky All-Star Angel Reese simultaneously revealed that she’d be receiving both honors, Ionescu was quick to praise her.
Reese was named the cover athlete of the WNBA edition of the NBA 2K26 video game on July 9, while the Liberty guard graced the cover of its 2024 WNBA edition. The former LSU women’s basketball star also previewed her first signature shoe, the Reebok Angel Reese 1, on the cover.
“Knowing the significance and the importance of how cool it is to be on the cover of 2K, like, video games are played worldwide,” Ionescu said at New York practice, according to Winsidr’s Myles Ehrlich.
“Everyone knows who’s on the cover every single year,” Ionescu continued. “There’s this anticipation, and I’m really happy for her to be able to see her kind of get her flowers so early on in her career, just knowing that I was able to be on it and how that moment meant a lot for me and my family.”
Reese’s cover features her driving to the hoop while wearing her signature shoes. Reebok announced her shoe back in October 2024 when she inked a multi-year contract extension with the company.
She’s got next.
Angel Reese is your #NBA2K26 WNBA Edition Cover Athlete!
Pre-order NBA 2K26 today at the 🔗 in bio pic.twitter.com/oE4gg8HK5h
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 9, 2025
Rebook unveiled the “Diamond Dust” Angel Reese 1 colorway on July 9, however, there isn’t currently an official release date. Ionescu called it “iconic” that the Sky star launched the show on the video game cover.
“I feel like it was knocking two birds with one stone and just having this amazing moment to kind of showcase to the world a shoe she’s been working on for a really long time and also an elite company with signature shoes,” Ionescu said. “I think that’s been amazing to see more and more women getting signature shoes and obviously she’s well deserved of that.”
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Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson released a signature shoe with Nike earlier this year, while Ionescu’s Liberty teammate Breanna Stewart has a shoe line with Puma. Ionescu is on her third basketball shoe with Nike, with the Sabrina 3s coming out on July 24.
The sixth-year guard hasn’t wasted much time when it comes to giving the new generation of WNBA their credit. She praised Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark’s range after they faced off in June. Ionescu also spent time postgame versus the Washington Mystics in May raving about rookie Sonia Citron’s approach to the game.
The WNBA is in good hands, with the July 19 WNBA All-Star Game being the first since 2011 to feature three rookies. Ionescu is set to play alongside Citron, as well as Mystics rookie Kiki Iriafen, on Team Clark. No. 1 overall pick from the Dallas Wings, Paige Bueckers, will play against them on the Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier’s team with the second-year player Reese.
Ionescu, whom the Liberty selected first in the 2020 WNBA Draft, is still just entering her prime at 27 years old. Coming off her first WNBA Championship in 2024, Ionescu’s career highs in points and steals per game have secured her a starting spot in the All-Star Game.
