Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, has congratulated New York Liberty point guard Sabrina Ionescu on her engagement to NFL reserve center Herones Grasso. The former WNBA star trained with the late Lakers legend and even paid tribute to him and his daughter, Gianna, at their funeral two years ago.
Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo our end !!!!! , Vanessa commented in the last post of UNESCO on Instagram on Saturday, after the American basketball player, of Romanian origin, announced her engagement to Grasso.
“It’s always us,” the 25-year-old, who has the title of the most triple-double player in NCAA history, shared earlier in the day, along with a heart emoji in the middle of the caption on her Instagram post. . “Here’s forever with you 1.20.23 #Finally.”
Sabrina Ionescu and NFL star fiancé Herones Grasso announced their engagement on Saturday
Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, congratulated the 25-year-old WNBA star on Instagram
Grasu (L) and Ionescu (R) played at Oregon but never crossed paths until two years ago
Ionescu used to train with Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna in 2019 before they died
Ionesco’s engagement setting consists of a bunch of white roses and candles raised in multiple heart shapes. Grasu waited until the WNBA All-Star realized he had prepared a surprise for her before finally popping the big question.
The couple has been believed to be dating since 2020. Both attended the University of Oregon, although they did not meet on the West Coast, as their sports careers never really converged during their college days.
Grasso, who was last promoted to the Las Vegas Raiders’ active roster in December, played for the Ducks from 2011 to 2014, before being drafted by the Chicago Bears in 2015. He previously signed with the Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans and San Francisco Family. 49 before moving to Sin City.
Meanwhile, Ionescu enrolled at Oregon State in 2016—a year after Grasso recruited. She went on to become the only NCAA player to score 2,000 points; 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds (women’s and men’s) before transitioning to professional basketball. She was the #1 pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft when Liberty selected her.
Ionescu is now the starting point guard for the New York Liberty and one of the best players in the WNBA
Grasu planned the perfect occasion to propose to Ionescu and waited for her to arrive to do so
And the American basketball player, of Romanian descent, was pulled over with a proposal on Saturday
During her first season in the WNBA, Ionesco was forced to sit out all but three games after suffering an ankle injury. She’s gone on to appear in 66 regular season games with Liberty over the past two years and even guided her team into the 2021 and 2022 postseasons.
Before turning pro, she once recorded 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists with a triple-double in the Ducks’ win over No. 4 Stanford on February 24, 2020, about a month after Kobe and Gianna died in a Los Angeles helicopter crash.
Ionescu said afterwards on the ESPN broadcast that it was especially rewarding to accomplish the feat on a given day because of Bryant, who has mentored her for the past year or so.
“I mean, this was for him,” said Ionescu, who flew in on a charter flight from Los Angeles following the Bryant Memorial to arrive about 90 minutes early from Place Pavilion, Stanford’s basketball arena.
Ionescu was spotted by Kobe in 2019 at an Oregon-USC game. He is seen with Gianna in practice
Ionesco said Bryant taught her to take a step back and gave her “the blueprint” for success
Pictured: Kobe Bryant (far left), Sabrina Ionescu (next to Kobe), and Gianna Bryant (No. 2)
“Doing that on 2/24/20 is huge. We talked about it in the preseason. I really can’t put it into words. He looks down on me and is really proud of me, and makes me really happy for my team.”
The ability to speak [at the memorial] The WNBA star added, before claiming that if she represents the present of the women’s game, Gigi represents the future, and Kobe knew it.
Ionescu once honored Kobe and Gigi Bryant on her Nikes before their February 2020 game against No. 4 Stanford. She ended up recording 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for the Oregon Ducks in that game
In her speech at the “Mamba” memorial, Ionescu told the story of Kobe and Gianna Bryant meeting in 2019, when the Lakers legend sat with his 13-year-old daughter as the Ducks played USC in Los Angeles.
She described her interactions with both in the months that followed, including moves on the court that Kobe Bryant helped teach her.
“Teach me a step back, tell me that if I can bring that into my game, it will be over for any defender who tries to protect me,” Ionescu said. He was giving me the chart. He was giving Gigi the same scheme.
Ionescu finished with 2,467 points, 1,041 assists and 1,003 rebounds in 137 games during her four-year career in Eugene.
Last season, she scored 17.4 points in 36 games, along with 7.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists. Her highest-scoring season came in 2020, the year she was drafted, when she averaged 18.3 points in three games.