Sabrina Ionescu didn’t look like herself in the last two games of the WNBA Finals. While she led the New York Liberty to their first WNBA Championship, she struggled mightily: everyone saw it but wasn’t sure why.

In Game 3, she hit one of the most iconic shots the WNBA has ever seen in playoff history: a game-winning 28-foot 3-pointer to give New York a gutsy victory. He finished that game with 13 points, five rebounds and six assists. Then Game 4 came and he struggled mightily, going 5 of 15 from the field in Minnesota and only scoring 10 points.

now it has been reported that Ionescu suffered a high-grade tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right hand during the fourth game.

According to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, Ionescu will not need surgery for the injury. In recent days he has covered his hand with a bandage and a splint.

In the winner-take-all fifth match of the championship, Ionescu was harshly criticized for her poor play. He had a 1-for-19 outing that also included a 1-for-10 performance from beyond the arc. While New York won 67-62 in overtime, Ionescu was the playoffs’ second leading scorer with 16.9 points per game. In Game 5 he had seven rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block, demonstrating his ability to impact the game in ways other than scoring.

The injury makes a lot of sense because of the way Ionescu played toward the end of the playoffs. He had an outstanding regular season averaging 18.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. She finished sixth in MVP voting, was an All-Star, made the All-WNBA second team, finished fifth in Most Improved Player voting and earned a gold medal at the Paris Olympics this summer.

Ionescu was looking to bounce back in this year’s Finals compared to the 2023 season. The Liberty came up short against the Las Vegas Aces in 2023 and Ionescu had a series he would like to forget, averaging 9.8 points in the four-game series. This time he averaged 12.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game in five games.