Former Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu, now of the WNBA’s New York Liberty, may go down as one of the greatest women’s college basketball players of all-time. The two-time Wooden Award winner finished her career with 26 triple doubles, 17 more than any other player in NCAA history.
In retrospect, Ionescu’s success was probably inevitable—the 5’11” guard was a McDonald’s All-American and the fourth-rated prospect in her class. At the time, Oregon may not have known they had a superstar on their hands, but Ionescu’s father sure did. He didn’t keep it a secret either, sharing tales of his daughter’s greatness to anyone who would listen.
In a viral Twitter thread posted Wednesday night, Luka Dukic (not to be confused with Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic) described an encounter he had with Ionescu’s father years ago in San Francisco. The Romanian-born Uber driver told Dukic, who serves as content director for the Chicago Bulls, that his daughter was headed to school on a hoops scholarship. Dukic remarked, “She must be good,” which elicited this emphatic response from Ionescu:
Dukic was skeptical of this pronouncement, citing his own experience with proud, overly effusive Eastern European parents, though he kept Ionescu’s business card and stashed it in his wallet, holding onto it in the off-chance Sabrina actually delivered on her father’s hype. Ionescu did precisely that, stacking up countless awards and accolades during her time in Eugene before eventually joining the Liberty as the top pick in last year’s WNBA Draft.
Ionescu, who missed much of her rookie season due to injury, acknowledged Dukic’s amusing anecdote, tweeting, “Yep, sounds like my dad.” All parents are inclined to prop up and encourage their children as not to crush their dreams, but unlike most, it seems Ionescu truly believed his daughter would reach the top … and he happened to be right.
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