“Wish We Were on the Same Team”: Sabrina Ionescu Opens Up About Playing Against Breanna Stewart in the All-Star Game

The defending WNBA champion New York Liberty will have great representation at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game. Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart are among the 22 women who will suit up Saturday night. Unfortunately, they won’t be on the same team, which is to the dismay of Ionescu.

Ionescu and Stewart have formed a close relationship over the years even though they have only played two full seasons as teammates. Before Stewart joined Ionescu on the Liberty in 2023, she spent four seasons with the Seattle Storm, where she won two WNBA championships.

During the WNBA’s 2025 All-Star Game Draft, their contemporaries took the opportunity to separate them. Team Caitlin Clark selected Ionescu, while Team Napheesa Collier chose Stewart. The separation left Ionescu disappointed.

“Wish we were on the same team, but it is what it is,” Ionescu said in an interview with IndyStar.

Although they won’t share the court as teammates, they’ll still be around each other off the court. “The entire weekend, we’ll be at events for one another and still be together,” Ionescu revealed. “I think that part’s really exciting to just be able to share it with a teammate.”

While Ionescu wishes she could play with Stewart, the two-time MVP had a different approach to facing her teammate. “Yeah, I’m going to trap her,” Stewart said. “Full-court press on Sab in the All-Star Game.”

The hilarious comments came moments after the Liberty’s 98-77 win over the Indiana Fever. Stewart’s using this break in the season as a fun and brief pit stop in the Liberty’s journey of winning back-to-back titles.

Stewart and Ionescu won’t match up against each other often due to the differences in position. Nonetheless, it’s nearly a guarantee that if Ionescu gets Stewart switched onto her, she will call for an isolation play.

The two stars definitely go back and forth in practice all the time. Now, fans will get the opportunity to watch them go at each other on the big stage.

The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will take place tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.