The past 12 months of Sabrina Ionescu have been like a movie.
Last February she lit up the NBA All-Star stage with a one-on-one three-point shootout with a Golden State Warriors friend and friend Steph Curry. In June, Sabrina 2 was embraced by a male and female hooper, the second edition of her signature Nike shoes. In August, she won a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. In October, she won the WNBA Championship at New York Liberty. This is a run that includes a 3-pointer who won an epic game in Game 3.
Now she is the team owner. Ionescu is the latest investor in Bay FC, the NWSL franchise in her hometown.
“I just didn't play in that community, I feel like I was just in high school,” Ionesque said. Athletic. “It's pretty crazy when I sit down and think about how young I am and how fast everything came. Especially on this side of things, I'm an investor in a professional league. A lot of people do that later in their careers. I think that's what I set up for the future, in order to be part of the business side of things.
“Now that I can influence the franchise, it's been pretty weird to think about it. It's kind of a pinch moment, and obviously very humble.”
It makes sense for Ionescu to become an investor in Bay FC. Bay Area itself. The pride of Miramonte High School. And the hope that by apologizing freely, many will become the nearest face of the new Golden State Valkyrie.
Ionescu also assumes the role of Bay FC's official commercial advisor. This makes sense for her place in this contemporary landscape of sports and business carved out space for women. Her desire for Bay FC to receive support maximizes the possibility of that being a coup for the Bay Area NWSL team.
Stick to the soil.
We look forward to the unique welcome of the 2024 WNBA champion, Olympic gold medalist, triple WNBA All-Star, Bay. @sabrina_i20 For your family as an investor and commercial advisor.
📰: https://t.co/utesbxjomy#bayfc x #bayareaunite pic.twitter.com/rdsccqvafd
– Bay Football Club (@wearebayfc) March 3, 2025
Conceptually, it is an ideal marriage. The Bay Area-grown superstar joining the Bay Area franchise will mix the changing landscape of Bay Area sports. With Bay FC established, Valkyries coming, and even the soul of Auckland in the USL W League, the region is growing more and more into the flexion of feasible sports for women.
Bay FC set the NWSL record with 11 wins by the expansion club, making the playoffs in its first season, but took the top three in the league in ticket revenue and number one in product sales. It has steadily risen after selling out its home opener last March and creating a moment in Bay Area history.
“It was pretty cool to watch,” Ionescu said. It was insane to see 18,000 people in the home opener. There's so much going on in the Bay Area that you really understand the number of people who really want to see women's sports (it was on display). ”
Added Ionescu to ownership and, together with Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Andrew Luck and Manu Ginobili, suggest growth potential. Young pioneers are now taking part in the mix. The college basketball genius has become a big dog.
Ionescu was the first female basketball player to have a unisex signature collection with Nike. The Sabrina 2 was the most worn out of all the current basketball shoes in the NBA. She was also coached and verified by the late Kobe Bryant.
“It's getting more attention to having someone like Sabrina,” said Jen Millett, Bay FC's COO. “We send a message that this is real. It's growing. It's important. We're on a rocket ship. And if you're in now and you're part of this, you're going to overdo the index. You're going to punch whatever your investment is now. This is a big win. She's essentially in Prime. She's youthful. She's heading up. We're heading up.”
This is just the beginning of Ionescu's growth height in the Bay Area. The Ionescu is set to be the pillars of these parts. They have strong roots in the community. Using curry as a role model. And now as her colleague at the founding of Bay FC. And one day – she is an unlimited free agent after this WNBA season – calling the Chase Center her home.
“It was insane to see 18,000 people in the home opener,” Sabrina Ionescu said of Bay FC's debut last March. “…I really understand how many people really want to see women's sports.” (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Ionescu brings another paradigm. Baller is baller, sport, sport, when quality is more important than identity.
This was one of the factors that reinforced Bay FC's claims of potential. Brands previously associated with women's sports for their appearance no longer need to overture them. More and more, those who invest in women's sports do so because they believe in that promise.
Some of Ionescu's Bay Area legacy helps to shift that paradigm. To where the game recognizes the game.
“It was fun to see everyone else finally come and see it,” Ionescu said. “All of these are monumental moments in what is happening in society today, whether it's a woman's sport or not, there were so many steps people took that continually took to create that equality among sports. It's fun to see the point we're at, but it's even more exciting to see where it's heading. We're hurting the surface of where we want to go in terms of pay, respect, viewers and sponsorship.”
Ionescu has yet to debut at PayPal Park in San Jose for the game. That could happen next month when Bay FC launches its 2025 NWSL campaign. But she is already official like the whi of judges. Swaggy stickers are engraved. Luxuriously thick letterman jacket. Navy blue like a white trim and white old English B long Shoreman peacoat on left chest. And there's a bayfc on the back.
These are the products that are much-needed. It is given only to franchise and VIP investors. Ionescu is both.
“Of course I have a jacket,” she glowed. “You know I got it.”
(Top photo of Sabrinaionesque during New York Liberty's WNBA Championship Parade in October: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
