My phone says it’s 90 degrees out, but it sure feels like it’s in the triple digits on this Wednesday afternoon at Sacred Heart Academy of Santa Maria Bulacan outside of Manila. There are hundreds of students lining the private school’s outdoor corridors clamoring for the chance to see WNBA Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist, Sabrina Ionescu.
Ionescu has already been in the Philippines for three days working with local basketball camps on newly unveiled courts, debuting her very first collaborative colorway on her Nike Sabrina 2, and playing in an exhibition game with some of the top professional hoopers in Manila inside the legendary Arenata Coliseum—the site of the “Thrilla in Manila” boxing bout between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. But this event feels different.
The children’s screams are deafening. They’re pouring out of their classrooms to get as close as they can; they’re even asking me for pictures and autographs because they think I have some slight relation to Sabrina just by being there. Ionescu’s influence is clear: even over 8,000 miles away from the city she plays in, she’s a household name.
“I think influence means your ability to impact a lot of other people,” Ionescu tells Complex. “And that’s something that’s been really important to me at this stage in my career is wanting to impact the next generation of athletes to become whatever it is that they want to become.”
Stateside, the WNBA champ is influencing in other ways. According to Boardroom, the Nike Sabrina 2 is the second most popular sneaker in the NBA (yes, the NBA, not the WNBA) in terms of minutes played, trailing only the Nike Kobe 6.
High profile NBA players like Tyler Herro and Jrue Holiday lace up the Sabrina 2 on a nightly basis, wearing different player exclusives and Nike By You colorways that have even caught Ionescu’s eye.
“Jrue Holiday actually had a blue and pink colorway. It was a PE though, not a Nike By You, last year and it was probably one of the most dope shoes that I’ve seen,” she says. “[I] never thought about that colorway on a shoe and it might’ve influenced some of the colorways coming out in the future with a little bit of pink and blue.”
After Manila, Ionescu continued on her tour to Guangzhou, China where one afternoon included a tour of the “House of Sabrina” pop-up space, a remixed local boutique stocked with a half dozen Sabrina 2 By You colorways. But rather than the likes of Herro or Holiday, women’s basketball teams from Beijing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai created colorways that represented their communities.
“Hearing their stories, why they chose the colors that they did, how it inspires them to want to be better basketball players, it just is kind of surreal and is a pinch me moment for me, and beautiful. I hope I can wear some of the colorways on the court as well,” Ionescu says.
Ionescu is following in the footsteps of many other Nike athletes before her with this promo tour in Asia. A tradition he likes of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and many others started to help establish their presence in a crucial international market.
Complex joined Ionescu on the Manila and Guangzhou stops of her Asia tour to talk to her about her signature line with Nike, the increasing popularity of the WNBA, basketball’s popularity overseas, and more. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Basketball is such an enormous sport around the globe, especially here in Asia. Can you speak to the influence the game has out here and what it’s been like receiving this kind of reception?
The culture here, it’s huge for basketball on the women’s and men’s side, and I think that’s something in the States that obviously we always know, we hear about, we see on social media. And so being able to touch down here and be in Manila, be able to just feel the love, feel the energy from the fans. And obviously a lot of the younger generation of athletes who are here in camps and clinics, being able to participate with them has been really exciting and something that I’ve really enjoyed.
Would you ever have expected that you’d be on your own Sabrina Ionescu Asia Tour when you were younger? Has it even really sunk in yet?
That’s definitely nothing that I’ve ever imagined or thought about. It’s a pretty surreal moment to be here now, and obviously it’s taken a lot of hard work and commitment from everyone. A lot of teams had to work really hard and a lot of months to be able to get this off the ground and running. And it’s been amazing just from the few days that I’ve been here so far, the love that I’ve received and being able to see how you can change and impact someone’s life in a different community.
Doing big tours like this in Asia is something that a lot of other basketball players have done. Is that something that’s inspired you?
I’ve watched a lot of athlete tours on YouTube, just being a fan of the sport and a fan of basketball, being able to watch so many athletes who come to different countries and are just able to continue to grow the game of basketball. So it’s been really fun to be able to be that kid that watches them and now being able to be here as a Nike athlete and doing the thing that I’ve always kind of looked up to is a very surreal moment.
Were there any specific tips or anything you got from those YouTube videos?
I was able to see that there’s a lot of work during the day in terms of what you’re doing, and so I came in prepared knowing that this was going to be a really fun but a day full of basketball, full of fan engagement. And so that’s something that’s obviously very kind of surreal, being able to see how many people have turned out and have been able to come to all these events and kind of a fan of me and my game.
Can you talk a bit about the city walk you took in Guangzhou? You got to see all of those Sabrina 2 colorways designed by communities around China and really immerse yourself in the culture of the city.
The city walk was beautiful. I’ve never been here, so being able to just walk the city and learn a little bit about the culture and the buildings and the flowers, it was beautiful. I feel like I just wanted to do it all day. Being able to walk and see all the Nike By You colorways by basketball players and fans here in China was beautiful. Hearing their stories, why they chose the colors that they did, how it inspires them to want to be better basketball players—it just is kind of surreal and is a “pinch me” moment for me and…and beautiful. I hope I can wear some of the colorways on the court as well.
The WNBA in general is growing so enormously right now. How does it feel to be one of the key catalysts that is helping it grow?
It’s been amazing obviously to be a part of this generation of athletes that are helping grow the game and the game right now is kind of at a spot that it hasn’t been in, so being able to be a voice and advocate for where we want to go, where we’re headed, obviously I’m very happy with where we’re at right now, but knowing that there’s still a lot of room for improvement. I’m really excited to be able to use the platform that I have on the court to continue to inspire and change everything that I’m able to do.
You mentioned that room for improvement. How do you avoid complacency? How do you keep on raising the ceiling?
I think just as athletes in general, you’re never satisfied and you never want to settle. And so obviously you continue to just chip away day by day. It’s not going to happen overnight, but you just continue to understand that you can improve and grow the game, leave the game better than you found it for the next generation of athletes. And that’s something that continues to motivate us as individuals in this league is wanting to leave it better than it is right now.
You have one of the most popular signature shoes in basketball right now, not just the WNBA, the Sabrina 2 is the second most worn shoe in the NBA. What is that like for you? How much of an honor is that to see so many hoopers wearing your shoe?
It’s definitely an honor. That was the goal that we had in mind when we created the first unisex shoe, is the ability to have my Sabrina shoe take on any court, male, female, young girls and young boys, and be able to change the landscape of sport and understand that it wasn’t a woman’s basketball shoe, it was just a basketball shoe. Creating that equality through a sneaker was something that was obviously the goal and at the forefront of what we were doing. And now to see that come to life is always an honor and just humbling to be able to see everyone wear it, a lot of the NBA guys in ’em and obviously we got to try and continue to get everyone in ’em. So never being satisfied and continuing to try and be better every year.
Your personal influence has clearly transcended the WNBA, at the very least that’s clear with your signature sneaker line. What does influence mean to you?
I think influence means your ability to impact a lot of other people, and that’s something that’s been really important to me at this stage in my career is wanting to impact the next generation of athletes to become whatever it is that they want to become. And I think it’s really important with the platform that you have to understand that’s something that you have to do, be able to give back to the next generation, and I believe that’s really what’s important and what I want my legacy to be.
Complex has a list coming out of The 10 Most Influential Female Athletes Right Now, and you’re on that list. What does that mean to you? How much of an honor is that to be on the list?
Obviously it’s an honor. I think when you’re in it sometimes you don’t really realize the impact that you have for those around you and obviously just for the next generation it’s something that you’re always working towards. But I think when you’re involved heavily in it, you don’t really realize the lives that you’re able to really impact. And so for me, it’s an honor and humbling to be able to get that recognition because obviously that’s the goal.
Who are the three people that have influenced you the most in your career?
That’s a tough one. The three people who have influenced me the most in my career would have to be Kobe Bryant, Steph Curry, and Diana Taurasi.
The last time we spoke was the day after you won the title. We talked about guys like Tyler Herro wearing your shoes and other players hitting you up constantly asking you for sneakers. Is that something that still happens? Is it even crazier now than it was then?
Yeah so, my name’s Sabrina, but I’m also the Nike store because everyone is always hitting me up for basketball shoes. But it’s been really fun to see a lot of people be able to use Nike By You as a platform to be able to customize their shoes, tell their stories through the colorways, and that’s been one of the most interesting parts that I’ve been able to see on social media is all these insane colorways that athletes have been able to come up with, and sometimes I kind of want to wear ’em. It’s been a really fun moment to be able to see everyone tell a little bit of their story through my shoes.
Do you ever see the Nike By You colorways and you’re like, “Damn, I want that pair myself.” Are you able to just get them?
Well, I mean I’d hope so. My name’s on the shoe, but yeah, Jrue Holiday actually had a blue and pink colorway it was a PE though, not a Nike By You, last year and it was probably one of the most dope shoes that I’ve seen and never thought about that colorway on a shoe and it might’ve influenced some of the colorways coming out in the future with a little bit of pink and blue.
The Sabrina 1 was great, the 2 is arguably even better. How were you and the team able to avoid a signature shoe “sophomore slump” that plagues a lot of signature athletes? How do you build on the 2 to make the 3 even better?
The goal is obviously always to get better. So that’s exactly what we’ve done. I’m really excited to be able to tell that story of how the 3 is going to be better than the 2. It’s kind of tough though. You never necessarily want it to be better. You just want to continue to improve and figure out ways as an athlete that you can continue to tweak things and figure out what the consumer needs and how you can continue to tailor that to them. For me, it’s been really important to understand the performance in the shoe and how I can continue to be the best athlete that I can be on the court and use my shoe as a tool to do that.
Signature sneakers in the WNBA used to be a bit of a rarity. They’re not so much anymore. You have your line, A’ja just got hers, and there’s more coming. How big is it for the WNBA to have these signature lines to prop the league up and have more eyes on it that way?
It’s huge. Five years ago we weren’t having any of these conversations and to think about how that’s just changed in such a short amount of time is amazing. Obviously Nike’s been at the forefront of that with always pushing women first and being able to always invest and understand the importance of what that means for the next generation of athletes. There’s going to be so many young girls in this world who are going to be able to look up to us having signature shoes and dream and aspire to have one as well one day. And I think that’s the best part about the jobs that we have and the stories that we’re able to tell through our signature line.
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