Anti-NY Comment Makes Napheesa Collier’s Husband Laugh as Lynx Reel From Sabrina Ionescu’s Clutch Shot

Target Center is still echoing from that Sabrina Ionescu buzzer-beater in Game 3. It was a heart-stopping moment by one of New York’s best, helping the Liberty lead the Finals 2-1. The Lynx will be looking for revenge after losing out despite the home advantage, and Napheesa Collier’s husband is joining in on the fun away from the court.

Basketball trainer Alex Bazzell has been active on social media, supporting his wife in the WNBA Finals. After her game 1 heroics, he took to X to say, “My wife is HER!!” Then again yesterday, when a fan account posted “Top 5 shots in New York basketball in the last 50 years”, Ionescu’s shot was no. 2. They claimed that if the Liberty won the Finals, she would be No. 1. Then a fan brought in Trae Young, a thorn in New York’s NBA side in the Atlanta Hawks.

The fan reposted the original tweet and asked, “Where is Trae?” to which Bazzell replied with laughing emojis, “😂😂😂” It should be noted that Collier’s husband has worked with several big names in the NBA, including Kobe Bryant. But most importantly, Bazzell works with Young as well.

The Hawks star, best known for his 2021 playoff heroics vs. the New York Knicks, has been working with Collier’s husband since as far back as 2019. So it’s no wonder that Bazzell, who is obviously rooting for his wife’s Lynx to win the championship, would support something anti-New York.

But despite the support Minnesota is receiving, many pundits believe there is a high chance the Liberty are going to win their first championship. After all, even Stephen Curry was applauding that clutch shot, and if Ionescu’s words are to be believed, it was no fluke.

Sabrina Ionescu on the left had her teammates worried at first

The University of Oregon knew who they were giving up to the WNBA when Ionescu got drafted into the league. But her journey hasn’t been one of explosion to instant stardom. Nevertheless, winning last year’s three-point game and then competing with the 3-point king himself earned Ionescu more recognition than ever, and her hard work doubled. The Liberty star revealed to the New York Post how she had been practicing those shots in the offseason, “visualizing a defender in front of me and visualizing that high-pressure situation because that’s just who I am and I want to be in that situation.”

Ionescu certainly delivered. When the game had been tied at 77-77 and 16 seconds remaining on the clock, NY coach Sandy Brondello called for a timeout. The onus of handling the ball was on Ionescu as the play resumed, with the Liberty aiming to allow her to bring the ball to her left side towards the center. But it went slightly wrong when the Lynx fouled her.

Jonquel Jones ran up to Breanna Stewart to direct attention toward her as Ionescu possessed the ball. “I was looking at her like, ‘I don’t think you’re supposed to be on that side,’ ” Jones said afterward. “You saw me run up there and ghost out. It was crazy, I was just happy she made something out of it.”

Brondello echoed later, “We wanted to get her on her left hand so that’s why it was a little bit clunky, but the result was good in the end.” All’s well that ends well! Sabrina Ionescu’s focused off-season practice has paid off, especially after losing to the Aces in last season’s Finals in a similar situation. The Liberty now has just one more game to win!