“Everything is about highlights, watching games,” Ionescu told Boardroom. “I’m so excited to be a part of this and have an easy way for people to watch my games and highlights as well.”
Sabrina Ionescu has a simple answer for why she is an investor in Buzzer, the mobile platform that makes it easier for fans to drop in and watch live sporting events during the most exciting moments:
“Because it’s me. It’s what I do.”
Not only is the Liberty star one of the most exciting young pros in the world, but she is also a member of Gen Z — precisely the demographic that Buzzer knows it can attract to the WNBA — its first partner organization in women’s sports — and the other leagues that will join the platform in the months and years to come.
“I stay on my phone. I watch highlights. [But] I’m also an athlete,” Ionescu said in conversation with Boardroom’s Ros Gold-Onwude and Buzzer founder/CEO Bo Han. “So I think it’s really both of my worlds colliding in one, to just be able to watch my teammates, my mentors, everyone that’s playing right now — whether it’s my fellow friends in the NBA, whatever it is — just being able to tune in and support them just like they support me.”
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Ionescu and Gold-Onwude are far from the only big names to partner with Buzzer, however. Naomi Osaka, Renee Montgomery, J. Cole, and a host of others are also involved, seeing the platform as the perfect opportunity to put its partner leagues in front of a wider audience.
That’s especially important to Ionescu.
“It’s not really about just going out there and playing,” she said. “I think the impact and the legacy that you’re going to leave is really important as well. So I definitely wanted to just put myself out there, and figure out what I’m interested in, and what I like, and how I can help my brand, and Boardroom has helped me through that.”
As Han puts it:
“When you’re seeing that exciting game, what is that habit or that inclination you already have? You’re telling somebody about it. You’re not sitting alone on your couch just enjoying an incredible game yourself. You’re texting your buddy, saying ‘are you watching this game? Did you see that shot? Did you just see Sabrina’s buzzer-beater?’ So all we are doing is leaning into that habit that already exists. And so that becomes an incredible connecting tool, utilizing that connection that is already inherent in sports.
“You have this sudden euphoria where you’re watching this in-the-moment, live. With, virtually, a group of friends. We’re focused on speed, simplicity, and creating a fan-centric experience.”
