THAT
THAT COMMON BUT WE ARE SAYING TO SEE THEM MORE AND MORE.
>>> LET'S A BIG STORY TONIGHT
BECAUSE IF YOU CALL YOURSELF A
COLLEGE BASKETBALL FAN OR EVEN
A SPORTS FAN AND YOU ARE PAYING
ATTENTION TO EVERYTHING
HAPPENING IN EUGENE.
I THINK YOUR FAN CREDENTIALS
ARE IN QUESTION.
THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON I JUST
HAVE THE SINGLE BEST COLLEGE
BASKETBALL PLAYER TO EVER PLAY
THE GAME.
THE GAME.
THE GAME. LAST NIGHT'S PERFORMANCE
AGAINST DENVER, SHE MAY HAVE
CEMENTED HER NAME ON THAT LIST.
>> KEEP IN MIND SABRINA IONESCU
HAS NEVER MISSED A
SHOOTAROUND.
SHOOTAROUND. >> IONESCU BACK TO MORE.
>> INTO THE HANDS OF IONESCU
AND SHE GETS A SCORE.
>> SABRINA DOES THIS AS WELL AS
ANYONE IN THE COUNTRY.
>> SABRINA IONESCU, SABRINA
IONESCU.
IONESCU.
IONESCU. THERE IS IONESCU.
SHOES FOR 3. IONESCU IS THERE
AND THERE IS SABRINA IONESCU
WITH THE REBOUND.
SHE IS JUST BECOME THE FIRST
PLAYER IN DIVISION I HISTORY
WITH 2000 POINTS, 1000 ASSISTS
AND 1000 REBOUNDS A HISTORIC
MARK SET BY SABRINA IONESCU.
>> SAY IT WITH ME NOW.
SABRINA IONESCU.
SABRINA IONESCU. COME ON, ALL THOSE HIGHLIGHTS,
THAT WAS JUST LAST NIGHT.
NEVERMIND SHE HAD THE FLU.
NEVERMIND SHE HADN'T EATEN ALL
DAY.
DAY.
DAY. SHE
DAY. SHE STILL LED THE TEAM TO WIN
OVER STANFORD SHE SHATTERED A
RECORD THAT NOBODY, NOBODY IN
DIVISION I BASKETBALL EVER MALE
OR FEMALE, NOTHING HAS EVER
DONE.
DONE.
DONE. 2000 POINTS, 1000 ASSISTS AND
1000 REBOUNDS.
1000 REBOUNDS. DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HER
26 CAREER TRIPLE DOUBLES.
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA HOW INSANE
THAT NUMBER IS THE NEXT HIGHEST
AMOUNT OF COLLEGE TRIPLE
DOUBLES IS 12 BICOL
COLLINSWORTH WHO PLAYED FOR
BYU.
BYU.
BYU. THE
BYU. THE NEXT THREE HIGHEST ARE
WOMEN.
WOMEN.
WOMEN. THERE WITH THIS FOR ONE SECOND,
I TO TALK TO OUR NON-BASKETBALL
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. SO THEY UNDERSTAND HOW
RIDICULOUSLY HARD IT IS TO GET
A TRIPLE-DOUBLE.
A TRIPLE-DOUBLE. ESPECIALLY AT A HIGH LEVEL.
YOU NEED DOUBLE DIGITS IN THREE
OF THE FOLLOWING BASKETBALL
CATEGORIES.
CATEGORIES. POINTS, REBOUNDS, ASSISTS,
STEALS AND BLOCKS.
10 POINTS, 10 ASSISTS, 10 STEALS
, THAT WOULD BE A TRIPLE-DOUBLE.
YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW HARD IT IS
TO DEAL THAT DAMIAN LILLARD
JUST GOT HIS FIRST EVER A MONTH
AGO.
AGO.
AGO. BASICALLY WHAT I'M SAYING,
SABRINA IONESCU IS A FORCE TO
BE RECKONED WITH AND SHE
MANAGED TO PULL OFF LAST
NIGHT'S PERFORMANCE NOT ONLY
SICK, BUT ON ONE OF THE
EMOTIONAL MOMENTS IN BASKETBALL
HISTORY?
HISTORY?
HISTORY? I WOULD LIKE TO DO IT ON 2-24-
20.
20.
20. I
20. I CAN'T PUT THAT INTO WORDS.
HE'S LOOKING DOWN AND PROUD OF
ME.
ME.
ME. THIS
ME. THIS REALLY HAPPY FOR THIS
MOMENT WITH MY TEAM.
>> SHE'S TALKING ABOUT KOBE
BRYANT.
BRYANT.
BRYANT. NUMBER 24 ON TOP OF BEING THE
DATE LAST NIGHT, THAT WAS THE
JERSEY HE WORKED FOR YEARS.
WE TALKED ABOUT THIS LAST NIGHT
ON "THE STORY".
BEFORE THAT GAME, SHE SPOKE AT
THE MEMORIAL AT THE STAPLES
CENTER IN LA.
I DON'T THINK WE DID A GOOD
ENOUGH JOB OF EXPLAINING HOW
HUGE THAT WAS AND WHAT IT
MEANT.
MEANT.
MEANT. SHE STOOD UP ALONGSIDE SOME OF
THE MOST POWERFUL NAMES IN
BASKETBALL AND POP CULTURE.
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, MICHAEL
JORDAN, NBA COMMISSIONER, JIMMY
KIMMEL, KOBE'S WIFE, VANESSA,
BEYONCI PERFORMED.
BEYONCI PERFORMED. ALICIA KEYS AND CHRISTINA
AGUILERA PERFORMED AS WELL AND
AMONG ALL THAT, SABRINA
IONESCU.
IONESCU.
IONESCU. AND IT'S SO STRANGE TO
DESCRIBE HIM OR GIGI IN THE
PAST TENSE.
PAST TENSE. DON'T GET USED TO THAT.
A WEEK AFTER THE ACCIDENT, I
WAS IN COLORADO AND I HAD A
GAME AND LIKE I DO FOR A
READING, I PRAYED.
THIS TIME I WAS THINKING ABOUT
KOBE AND GIGI.
HIS VOICE IS STILL IN MY HEAD
EVEN IF HIS BODY'S NOT ON THIS
EARTH.
EARTH.
EARTH. ALL I WANTED WAS A SIGN IN SOME
WAY HE STILL HEARD ME TOO I
LOOKED OFF INTO THE SKY AND
THERE WAS.
THERE WAS. A BEAUTIFUL GOLDEN SUNSET.
THE BOLDEST YELLOW, LAKERS
YELLOW.
YELLOW.
YELLOW. AND FURTHER IN THE DISTANCE,
THE HELICOPTER.
THE HELICOPTER. THERE WAS MY SIGN THAT HE WILL
FOREVER BE WITH ME.
>> SHE SAYS SHE STILL TEXAS
KOBE'S NUMBER.
KOBE'S NUMBER. AFTER RETIRED FROM THE MBA HE
FOCUSED ON BUILDING UP WOMEN'S
BASKETBALL.
BASKETBALL. I DON'T THINK I'M BEING
CONTROVERSIAL WHEN I'M SAYING
THEY DON'T GET THE SAME AMOUNT
OF ATTENTION THAT MEN'S DOES.
BUT SABRINA IONESCU IS SINGLE-
HANDEDLY CHANGING THAT
DEMANDING OUR ATTENTION.
SO HOW DID SHE GET HERE?
I MEAN LET'S GO BACK TO THE
BEGINNING.
BEGINNING. SABRINA IONESCU, DAUGHTER OF
ROMANIAN IMMIGRANTS BORN IN
WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA,
DECEMBER 6, 1997.
YES 97.
YES 97.
YES 97. YOU FEEL OLD YET.
SHE STARTED STRONG AND LEFT
HIGH SCHOOL WITH THE WIN LOSS
RECORD 19 - IN A SCORING RECORD
WAIT FOR -- 2606 POINTS.
SHE HELD SCHOOL RECORDS AND
ASSISTS, DEALS AND TRIPLE
DOUBLES.
DOUBLES.
DOUBLES. I THINK WE WERE GETTING A TEASE
OF WHAT WAS TO COME.
SHE CAME TO OREGON IN 2016 TO
PLAY FOR THE DUCKS.
SHE SCORED FOR TRIPLE DOUBLES
AND WAS NAMED PAC-12 FRESHMAN
OF THE YEAR.
ONLY THE SECOND TO RECEIVE THAT
HONOR.
HONOR.
HONOR. MY
HONOR. MY SOPHOMORE YEAR SHE HAD THE
NCAA WOMEN'S TRIPLE-DOUBLE
RECORD.
RECORD.
RECORD. I
RECORD. I JUNIOR YEAR, SHE HAD THE ALL-
TIME RECORD NUMBER OF TRIPLE
DOUBLES.
DOUBLES.
DOUBLES. SHE DID THE YEAR BY SHARING THE
JOHN R WOODEN AWARD WITH DIANE
WILLIAMSON WHO BECAME THE
NUMBER ONE PICK IN THE NBA
DRAFT.
DRAFT.
DRAFT. ANNOUNCER SENIOR YEAR AND THE
WORLD IS WAITING TO SEE WHAT
COMES NEXT.
COMES NEXT. AND THAT IS HOW SHE GOT HERE.
>> SHE CAN PLAY BASKETBALL.
NO QUESTION.
NO QUESTION. SHE'S ALSO A GREAT STUDENT.
SHE'S IN THE MASTERS PROGRAM AT
>>> TO BUILDING HER OWN BRAND.
TODAY WE GOT IN TOUCH WITH HER
PROFESSOR AND SHE TOLD US
IONESCU CAME INTO THE PROGRAM
KNOWING HAVING A BRAND WAS
IMPORTANT.
IMPORTANT. SHE FIRST DIDN'T REALLY KNOW
WHAT SHE WANTED IT TO LOOK
LIKE.
LIKE.
LIKE. NOW
LIKE. NOW SHE HAS FOUND HER VOICE AND
IS USING IT.
>> THE THING NOW PEOPLE ARE
LEARNING ABOUT HER, IS HOW MUCH
SHE TRULY CARES ABOUT THE ROLE
OF WOMEN IN SPORTS AND THE
IMPORTANCE SHE SEES THAT WOMEN
ARE EQUAL IN SPORTS TO MEN.
SHE'S PROMOTING THAT PLATFORM
WHEN SHE TALKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
WHEN SHE SPEAKS IN FRONT OF
GROUPS.
GROUPS.
GROUPS. AND THAT IS COMING FROM HER
HEART.
HEART.
HEART. AND A BIG PART OF THE QUALITY
IN THE SPORTS WORLD, IS THE PAY
DISPARITY BETWEEN MEN AND
WOMEN.
WOMEN.
WOMEN. WNBA PLAYERS GET A HIGHER
SALARY.
SALARY.
SALARY. THE AVERAGE IS NOW $130,000 AND
THE HIGHEST PAID PLAYERS MAKE
MORE THAN 500,000 BUCKS.
BUT LET'S LOOK AT THE NBA.
THE AVERAGE SALARY FOR MEN,
NEARLY $8 MILLION.
RIGHT NOW THE HIGHEST-PAID
PLAYER IN THE WORLD MAKES MORE
THAN $40 MILLION.
THAT IS A TON OF MONEY.
THE NBA GETS A LOT MORE
VIEWERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE SOME
MORE THAN THE WNBA.
THAT FACTORS INTO HOW MUCH THE
PLAYERS GET PAID.
BUT IONESCU'S STAR POWER
BRINGS IN CROWDS.
THE YEAR BEFORE SHE PLAYED AT
>>> TWO, THE AVERAGE ATTENDANCE
WAS ABOUT 1600.
IT HAS GONE UP EVERY SINGLE
SEASON SINCE.
SEASON SINCE. THIS SEASON, IT HIT MORE THAN
10,000.
10,000.
10,000. THAT IS A TENFOLD INCREASE.
BY THE WAY, THE WNBA DRAFT IS
HAPPENING IN APRIL.
EVEN THOUGH SHE'S PROBABLY
GOING TO GO