The WNBA superstar will work with Boardroom on content, events, and editorial.
Sabrina Ionescu is quickly becoming one of the most marketable and successful names and brands in all of sports, with endorsement and investment opportunities arriving one after another for the New York Liberty’s 23-year-old star guard.
On Wednesday, Thirty Five Ventures and Ionescu announced a new, wide-ranging partnership, aligning her with the organization and positioning her as an Ambassador for Boardroom, their sports business media network.
Ionescu will provide an inside look at growing her own business portfolio off the court and her unique insights on brand partnerships like State Farm and Nike. She’ll work with Boardroom on content, events, and editorial, including a collaboration with Thirty Five Ventures co-founder Kevin Durant.
Ionescu will also become a strategic partner to Thirty Five Ventures, giving her visibility and access to venture capital partners and key stakeholders in the organization’s network while further growing her personal portfolio.
“KD and Rich [Kleiman] have built something incredible with Thirty Five Ventures and Boardroom, and I’m excited to be a part of it firsthand as I expand my business off the court,” Ionescu said. “With KD and I both playing in New York, it provides the unique opportunity for us to collaborate.”
New York selected Ionescu with the top overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft after an all-time great career at the University of Oregon. She broke Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton’s all-time Pac-12 assists record, is the NCAA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles with 26, and is the only Division I basketball player to record 2,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds in a career.
And in just her sixth Liberty game, Ionescu recorded her first WNBA triple-double, becoming the youngest player in the league’s 24-plus seasons to achieve such a feat.
Now entrenched at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center playing for the Liberty, Ionescu is ready to thrive both on and off the floor with the help of Thirty Five Ventures’ resources and guidance.
“Sabrina is a generational talent on the court, and it’s already clear that she moves different in the business world as well,” Durant said. “We’re excited to build something special together with Boardroom and beyond.”
“Being able to work with Sabrina in any capacity is an honor,” Thirty Five Ventures co-founder and Boardroom CEO Rich Kleiman said. “We have tremendous respect for the way she carries herself on the court, in life, and in business, and her entrepreneurial spirit and growing business acumen will be an incredible addition to what we’re building with Boardroom.”
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