New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu has already established herself as a legend in women’s sports and the footwear industry. At just 27, Ionescu is a WNBA champion with a signature sneaker line that has proven women are just as influential (if not more) than any male athlete.

Whether it is competing against NBA All-Star Stephen Curry in a highly publicized 3-Point Contest or becoming the first Nike women’s basketball player to go on a global tour, Ionescu has broken down barriers one clutch moment at a time.

She is continuing her mission to uplift young athletes by joining the Body Confident Sport Program. Ionescu is the latest legendary athlete to join the company’s all-star roster aimed at empowering girls to stay in sports.

Research shows nearly half of girls drop out during adolescence, often due to body image concerns. Roughly 45% of girls globally drop out of sports by age 14 due to low body confidence, and 48% of girls who drop out of sports were told they didn’t have the right body type. Ionescu can help change those stats.

In 2023, Dove and Nike launched the Body Confident Sport Program to help girls stay in sport by tackling appearance pressures head-on. In 2025, Dove introduced the Dove Body Confident Collective, where its roster of coaches, athletes, and creator partners have enriched and amplified building girls’ self-esteem in sports.

It’s the first evidence-based curriculum designed to give coaches and mentors the tools to build body confidence, not just performance, for girls ages 11–17. In partnership with national and local organizations, Dove has brought its mission to empower girls’ confidence to some of the world’s biggest sports moments like the Super Bowl, March Madness, and the US Open.

Together with partners like Ionescu, Dove is redefining what confidence looks like in sport, strong, joyful, and unapologetically themselves. Sports Illustrated’s Kicks On SI spoke with Ionescu about her role as a leader in women’s sports, footwear, and the world.

How excited were you to participate in Dove’s Body Confident Sport Program?

I was super excited. Obviously, just being a female in sport, and understanding the significance and importance of Dove’s Body Confident Sports Program. Just knowing what that means to a lot of young girls, and the importance of coaches and mentors, and understanding that, especially at a young age, that’s who you look up to for guidance.

I think it’s super important to have that self-confidence, but also to be given confidence from coaches and mentors and people around you, and just knowing how important that was for me. It was a great experience. I learned a lot. I had a lot of fun partnering with Dove on that.

It’s a message that I always want to kind of leave behind when I ever get an opportunity to speak in front of young girls and kind of just try and be that mentor as well.

You seem very comfortable in your own skin. Has it always been that way?

It’s just part of evolving and growing. Especially from a young age, knowing confidence always looks differently, and it never shows up the same.

It’s always times where maybe you needed a little more, maybe you needed a little bit less, and as you continue, just go through a lot of experiences, you’re always working on being the most confident version of yourself. I’d say that’s something that is never really a finished product.

You’re always pouring into that side of yourself to be the best that you can be. That’s why I’m passionate about telling that side of the story because everyone needs it, and everyone’s going through it.

What advice would you give to young female athletes who have body image concerns?

I feel like a big thing is to know that they’re not alone. Being able to speak up about it, lean on people you can rely on to help you understand what you’re going through. Also, I think it’s knowing that it’s okay to feel like that.

But I think the biggest part is just knowing that you belong on the court no matter what, and to not let anyone tell you anything to be able to not have that. The biggest thing is just knowing that confidence needs to come from within and not allow anyone from the outside to let that kind of waver.

Do you think there are steps parents and coaches can take to help build girls’ self-esteem?

Well, first, it’s just understanding that parents, coaches, and mentors have a huge role in that and not downplaying that role. That’s why Dove’s Body Confidence Sport Program is huge because it does start with giving them tools to be able to pour into young girls to understand how to deal with what it is they’re dealing with, especially at school and in different sports that they’re trying.

The biggest part is you need to know how to relate. You need to know how to be able to listen and give them different tools in ways that they can deal with what it is that they’re dealing with. And everyone’s dealing with something different.

It’s never really the same. As an adult, you need to continue evolving as a leader, understanding how to relate to the next generation and the adversity they’re facing, and find ways to help them get through it while staying in sports.

Switching gears to footwear, your signature sneaker line has transcended the WNBA and is one of the most popular choices in the NBA. How rewarding is it to break down those barriers?

Definitely very, very rewarding. That was obviously the goal and the mission when we started this: to create an opportunity for young boys and girls to grow up in a society where it’s just a basketball shoe.

Doesn’t matter if it’s designed or created by a female, and I feel like we’re seeing that, we’re seeing it on the NBA courts, college basketball, young boys, young girls, all in my shoe, and to be able to see that take place in real time while I’m also playing is an honor and a blessing.

Everyone from Adam Sandler to Spike Lee has worn the Nike Sabrina 3. Is there any other athlete or celebrity you want to see wear it?

This is a little far-fetched, but Luke Combs. Because he’s my favorite singer. I love watching all his videos. He sells out stadiums and arenas, and to be able to see him in some shoes would be dope.

Last question: The Nike Sabrina line has three shoes and countless colorways. Which is your favorite?

The Oregon 1s are always my favorite. Because we come up with really cool designs, and I just remember being in college and loving getting signature athletes’ shoes all the time, and now knowing that those college athletes are getting mine is kind of full circle.

So I would have to say the Oregon 1s, and then I have a bunch after my mom, which they’re the like Sabrina 2s and 3s, ‘Lily’ because that’s her name, and there are Lily flowers embedded all through the shoe, and I also won the 2024 WNBA Championship in that colorway of a shoe. So those ones are always very special to me.