Aces’ rival says $4K sneakers were stolen in Las Vegas
A pair of $4,400 basketball shoes owned by New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu turned up missing following a recent WNBA game against the Las Vegas Aces.
Ionescu, 25, had been celebrating in the locker room with her teammates after they defeated the Aces in the Commissioner’s Cup game at Michelob Ultra Arena on Aug. 15, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Never thought I would get my shoes stolen from an opposing arena…
Please just bring me my insoles back 😩
RIP to my Sabrina 1s pic.twitter.com/LaBwa4jkMR— Sabrina Ionescu (@sabrina_i20) August 17, 2023
Ionescu’s green and yellow Sabrina 1 model Nike brand shoes were packed into her black shoe bag after the game that night and then transferred to a training room in the arena but were never seen again, police stated in a report.
The special model athletic footwear, with orthopedic insoles, is valued at $4,400, she told police.
Her shoes were the only ones missing from the training room, officers reported.
The missing footwear is from Ionescu’s line of shoes produced by Nike. “The Sabrina 1 is made to serve players like Ionescu who want to accelerate and cut with quickness on both sides of the floor and still feel fresh in the fourth quarter,” according to the Nike website.
Police were dispatched at 1:40 p.m. Thursday to Mandalay Bay, where the arena is located, at 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South, to investigate the suspected theft, the report said.
Detectives reviewed surveillance videos during a follow-up investigation, police reported.
Ionescu, a guard for the Liberty, has been active in the professional women’s basketball league for the past three years, according to the WNBA website.
She was the first player in league history to score 500 or more points, grab 200 or more rebounds and make 200 or more assists in a single season, the website said.
In June 2022, Ionescu was the first player to record a triple-double in under three quarters during a game against the Chicago Sky. She scored her first 30-point triple-double against the Aces in July of that year, the league stated.
Contact Jeff Burbank at jburbank@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0382. Follow him @JeffBurbank2 on Twitter.
