Basketball-WNBA's first overall pick Ionescu helped off court with injury

First overall WNBA pick Sabrina Ionescu was helped off the court with an ankle injury on Friday during the New York Liberty's matchup against the Atlanta Dream, casting a shadow on the highly touted rookie's debut season.

First overall WNBA pick Sabrina Ionescu was helped off the court with an ankle injury on Friday during the New York Liberty's matchup against the Atlanta Dream, casting a shadow on the highly touted rookie's debut season. The Liberty guard rolled her ankle, suffering a sprain, the New York team said, in her third game of the shortened WNBA season, which is being held without fans in a "bubble" setting in Bradenton, Florida, amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Dismayed fans responded to wince-inducing footage https://twitter.com/JasmynWimbish/status/1289347832328192003 of the injury on social media. "Ouch!!" tweeted three-time NBA champion LeBron James in response. "@sabrina_i20 Get healthy as soon as possible! Health is wealth."

Ionescu, who was mentored by the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and was the only Division I player to record 2,000 career points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists, roared into the league on a wave of monumental expectations. She scored 33 points during the Liberty's Wednesday loss to the Dallas Wings.