{"id":402749,"date":"2026-01-11T14:51:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T14:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/402749\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T14:51:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T14:51:22","slug":"oregons-wnba-connections-sabrina-ionescu-cameron-brink-among-basketball-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/402749\/","title":{"rendered":"Oregon\u2019s WNBA connections: Sabrina Ionescu, Cameron Brink among basketball stars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Until there\u2019s an expansion draft<\/a> and the 2026 WNBA<\/a> Draft, it remains unclear who is coming to play for the Portland Fire<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Regardless, there is already a few players and coaches in the WNBA who have ties to Oregon. And some of them stand among the best in the WNBA. <\/p>\n

\"No.Sabrina Ionescu is honored during the Ducks’ senior day celebration after the No. 3 Oregon Ducks beat the Washington Huskies 92-56 in a women’s basketball game on Sunday, March 1, 2020, at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene. Photo by Serena Morones for The Oregonian\/OregonLiveSerena Morones for The Oregonian\/OregonLiveSabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty <\/p>\n

Anyone who\u2019s ever watched women\u2019s basketball in Oregon does not need an introduction to Ionescu. Known by Oregon Ducks fans as \u201cGOAT,\u201d Ionescu played at Oregon from 2016-2020 and was part of the 2020 team that looked destined to win the NCAA Championship<\/a> before COVID-19 ended the season prematurely. <\/p>\n

Ionescu is the NCAA\u2019s all-time leader in triple-doubles, was a three-time Pac-12 Player of the Year and thrust the Ducks into the national spotlight. She was taken No. 1 overall by the Liberty<\/a> in 2020 and has since been a four-time All-Star and led the Liberty to a WNBA Championship in 2024. <\/p>\n

\"OregonOregon’s Satou Sabally shoots before the No. 1 seed Oregon Ducks face the No. 4 seed Arizona Wildcats in the semifinals of the Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament on Saturday, March 7, 2020, at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Photo by Serena Morones for The Oregonian\/OregonLiveSerena Morones for The Oregonian\/OregonLiveSatou Sabally, Phoenix Mercury<\/p>\n

Sabally was Ionescu\u2019s running mate at Oregon. One year Ionescu\u2019s junior, Sabally was known as \u201cThe Unicorn\u201d due to her ability to move like a guard despite standing at 6-foot-4. <\/p>\n

Sabally was a two-time All Pac-12 selection and a second team All-American in 2020. She was taken No. 2 in the 2020 WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings and has since been a three-time WNBA All-Star. Sabally has missed significant playing time over the years due to injury, but after being traded to the Mercury in February 2025 helped lead Phoenix to the WNBA Finals. <\/p>\n

\"DucksOregon\u2019s Nyara Sabally shoots over Oregon State\u2019s Ellie Mack as the No. 24 Ducks face the Beavers in a women\u2019s college basketball game at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon on Friday, Feb. 11, 2022.Sean Meagher\/The OregonianNyara Sabally, New York Liberty <\/p>\n

Despite standing an inch taller, Sabally is the younger sister of Satou Sabally. While the two played at Oregon together, they never played on the same team due to Nyara Sabally missing the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 seasons with knee injuries. <\/p>\n

Sabally was able to return in the 2020-2021 season and was instantly a standout post presence. She was a two-time All-Pac-12 selection and was taken with the fifth overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft by the Liberty. Sabally was a key contributor in the Liberty\u2019s WNBA Championship run in 2024, scoring 13 points with seven rebounds in the decisive game five. <\/p>\n

Sabally was born in Bandon, making her the only current WNBA player born in the Beaver State. <\/p>\n

\"CameronCameron Brink of Mountainside (photo by Serena Morones)Cameron Brink, Los Angeles Sparks <\/p>\n

Brink was one of the most storied high school basketball players ever to come out of Oregon. Brink played for Southridge and helped lead the Skyhawks to Class 6A state championships in 2017 and 2018<\/a>, and finishing as the runner-up in 2019. She was also a part of the 2019-20 Mountainside team, but the season was ended early due to COVID-19. <\/p>\n

Brink ended her high school career with 1,909 career points and 1,209 rebounds. She was an All-American in 2020 and was named the Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year in 2018 and 2019. She went on to play for Stanford where she helped the Cardinal win the 2021 NCAA Championship. She was a two-time Pac-12 Player of the Year a three-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and the 2024 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. <\/p>\n

Brink was taken with the second overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Sparks.<\/p>\n

\"Oregon\u2019sOregon\u2019s Te-Hina Paopao (right) gets a high five before the Ducks take on the Rice Owls in a second-round WNIT game on Monday, March 20, 2023, at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene. The Ducks won 78-53.Ali Gradischer for The Oregonian\/OregonLiveTe-Hina Paopao, Atlanta Dream <\/p>\n

Paopao may be a bit of a sore subject for Ducks fans. She joined the Ducks in 2020 and was considered as a potential successor to Ionescu<\/a>, but the Ducks were unable to return to the level of play they had seen in the previous couple of years. <\/p>\n

Paopao played well for the Ducks and was twice named to the All-Pac-12 Team (2021 and 2022). In 2023, Paopao transferred to South Carolina<\/a> and was the Gamecocks\u2019 point guard when they won the NCAA Championship in 2024. <\/p>\n

She was taken with the 18th overall pick by the Atlanta Dream in 2025.<\/p>\n

\"TrailAssistant coach Nate Tibbetts chats with Anfernee Simons during a timeout as the Portland Trail Blazers host Maccabi Haifa in a preseason game at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon on Thursday, October 10, 2019. Sean Meagher\/StaffNate Tibbetts, Phoenix Mercury <\/p>\n

The Mercury\u2019s head coach is perhaps best known for his time as an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers from 2013 to 2021 and was hired on his birthday by former Blazers coach Terry Stotts<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Tibbetts eventually left Portland in 2021 to become an assistant for the Orlando Magic. He took over for the Mercury (his first time as a head coach since he led the Tulsa 66ers NBA G League team from 2009-2011) in 2024. <\/p>\n

\"ElainePower guard Elaine Powell drives to the hoop through the defense of Seattle’s Kate Paye, right, and Joy Holmes.THE OREGONIANElaine Powell, Minnesota Lynx <\/p>\n

Powell was hired as an assistant coach for the Lynx in 2023. Powell started her WNBA career in 1999 when she was drafted by the Orlando Miracle, but before that she spent 1997 and 1998 as the starting point guard for the Portland Power. <\/p>\n

Mitch Thompson, Seattle Storm <\/p>\n

Thompson was hired by the Storm in 2025 (and also coaches in the Unrivaled league), but he has deep roots in Oregon. <\/p>\n

Thompson is from Hermiston and attended Oregon State. Fresh out of college, Thompson took over as head coach at Irrigon<\/a> and helped lead the Knights to the Class 2A state championship in 2015<\/a>. He also helped in Corvallis as a student manager and the director of video for the Beavers\u2019 men\u2019s basketball team. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Until there\u2019s an expansion draft and the 2026 WNBA Draft, it remains unclear who is coming to play…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":402750,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,4581,169754,169755,82,142702,630],"class_list":{"0":"post-402749","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-oregon-ducks","11":"tag-oregon-ducks-womens-basketball","12":"tag-pac-12-womens-basketball","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-washington-huskies","15":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/402750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}