Sabrina Ionescu shared a moment with Kobe Bryant’s family following Team USA’s gold-medal win over France on Sunday to cap off the 2024 Olympics.
The Liberty All-Star went over to embrace Vanessa Bryant and daughters Bianka, Capri and Natalia courtside following a 67-66 victory over France, who led by double digits as late as the third quarter.
Ionescu and Team USA secured the team’s eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal, a streak that extends back to 1996, predating the existence of the WNBA by one season.
The Bryants were in attendance regularly throughout the Olympics, watching Team USA en route to the gold.
Ionescu had grown to be a good friend of Kobe’s prior to his and daughter Gianna’s tragic death in a January 2020 helicopter crash.
Ionescu didn’t check in until the third quarter of Team USA’s win, nor did she play consistently in the tournament, but she did prove to be effective in her minutes.
The 26-year-old guard appeared in all six games, averaging 13.2 minutes per contest, and scoring 5.5 points per game while shooting 40 percent from three.
In limited time, she also averaged 3.3 assists per game, which was good for third on the team despite logging the 10th most minutes on average.
The gold marks Ionescu’s first in the Olympics, though, she’s been a staple for Team USA throughout her development.
Ionescu was also a fixture on the 2022 FIBA World Cup Championship team, and she also won Team USA golds in the 2013 Under-16 FIBA Americas Championship, 2014 U-17 FIBA World Cup, and the 2019 Pan American Games while she was still at Oregon.
The WNBA will resume games on Thursday after taking a break for the Olympics.