Sabrina Ionescu brings the ball up the court during the WNBA game between the New York Liberty and the Atlanta Dream on June 23. Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire/AP CNN —
Where are Sabrina Ionescu’s shoes?
The New York Liberty star took to social media on Thursday from Las Vegas about her signature basketball shoes going missing while she and her team are on the road – and that she at least wants to retrieve her custom-made insoles.
“Never thought I would get my shoes stolen from an opposing arena … Please just bring me my insoles back,” Ionescu said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “RIP to my Sabrina 1s.”
Her post, which shows two pairs of her Nike shoes, came before the Liberty’s game against the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob Ultra Arena. The Liberty lost to the Aces 88-75 on Thursday, and Ionescu led her team with 22 points. It was the team’s second consecutive game against the Aces: They had previously beaten Las Vegas on Tuesday night at the same venue to win the WNBA’s Commissioner’s Cup championship.
As to what happened to the shoes, Ionescu said after Thursday’s game, according to ESPN: “I have no idea. I haven’t heard anything yet.”
ESPN reports that Ionescu said her shoes were locked up at the arena between those games and don’t know when they went missing. ESPN also reports that Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb said the team was waiting to hear from arena authorities. CNN has reached out to the Liberty on Friday morning to see if there was any update on the missing shoes.
MGM Resorts International owns the arena. A spokesperson from MGM Resorts International told CNN on Friday, “We are aware of this situation and are working with Metro Police to investigate.” CNN has reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for comment.
“As an athlete, it’s not about the shoes, per se, it’s about the insoles,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello, speaking before Thursday’s game, told reporters, according to ESPN. “That’s the thing, going into a game not wearing your insoles. But I’m sure it will be taken care of. Our focus now is just on the game.
“She’s got some (other) shoes here. They travel with enough shoes. It was just about the insoles. Hopefully, they can be found. Keep the shoes, but give the insoles back. She can get plenty of shoes. But we’re on the road, so it’s not like we can just get some insoles.”