Sabrina Ionescu’s First Double-Double of 2026 Has the Liberty Feeling Dangerous Again

The New York Liberty just sent a message to the rest of the WNBA, and it didn’t come from a press conference or a social media post. It came from Sabrina Ionescu finally looking like Sabrina Ionescu again.

Tuesday night’s 87-76 win over the Las Vegas Aces wasn’t just another regular-season game. It was the first time this season that Ionescu logged a double-double: 16 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists in 30 minutes. That stat line is exactly the kind of vintage production the Liberty have been waiting for since she went down with foot and back issues earlier in the year.

Ionescu has only played in six games this season. She didn’t return to the court until June 14 against the Mystics, and even then she was on a minutes restriction. But Tuesday night felt different. She was aggressive. She was moving well. And the Liberty as a whole looked like they could hang with anyone.

“Two of the best organizations in our league,” Ionescu said after the game, per ESPN’s Michael Voepel. “[The Aces] have continued to pave the way in what they’ve done, contending every single year, winning multiple championships. [The matchup] is always a great basketball game being played … some of the best players the game has ever seen on the court.”

She’s not wrong. The Liberty and Aces have combined to win the last four WNBA championships and two Commissioner’s Cups. And they’re about to run it back again.

The Commissioner’s Cup rematch is already set

The two teams will meet again in the Commissioner’s Cup final on June 30 in New York. It’s the kind of game that feels like a playoff preview, even though it technically isn’t. Both rosters are loaded, the stakes are real, and the bad blood between these two franchises is still simmering from last year’s finals.

But the Liberty can’t afford to look past the next few games. They’ve got a road trip to Seattle first, facing the Storm on June 25 at Climate Pledge Arena. That game tips off at 10 PM ET.

If Ionescu keeps playing like this, New York might be the scariest team in the league over the next few weeks. And the Aces, for all their dominance, just saw exactly what they’re up against.