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As Hailey Van Lith prepares for her first season in the WNBA, she acknowledges the need to refine her game. During the 2025 WNBPA rookie orientation, Van Lith opened up about an area she hopes to improve.
While playing a game of NBA 2K25, Van Lith was asked to name a player’s skill she’d like to steal the most. Answering Dipika Dutt, the 23-year-old didn’t think twice before picking Sabrina Ionescu’s shooting.
“Everybody needs a shooter. If I could have like Sabrina’s pure sharpshooter ability,” she said.
Ioenscu, who earned $6.3 million during the 2024 season, has established herself as one of the best shooters in league history despite entering the WNBA in 2020. Within merely five years, Ionescu has acquired many shooting records in her name, including the single-season three-point record.
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The New York Liberty star witnessed a dip in her shooting display during the 2024 season. Field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three-point percentage took a significant dip compared to the previous season that year. However, the campaign also witnessed the highest-scoring season (18.2 ppg) of her career.
Hailey Van Lith picked Sabrina Ionescu over Caitlin Clark on draft day
Before the 2025 WNBA draft commenced, numerous draftees took part in a fun “start, bench, cut” session during an interview. They were told to select from three guards – Diana Taurasi, Sabrina Ionescu, and Caitlin Clark.
Hailey Van Lith displayed her respect for the veteran by deciding to start Taurasi. She then made the controversial call of selecting Ionescu over Clark.
"Give flowers to the legend. We're going to start Diana Taurasi," Van Lith said (timestamp 0:19 onwards). "I'm going to bench Sabrina and cut Caitlin."
It appears that Van Lith was focusing on players with more experience. There's clearly no animosity toward Clark. In fact, during her college career, Van Lith frequently spoke highly of the University of Iowa star.
"She's very skilled, she's a great player," Van Lith told reporters after LSU’s Elite Eight clash against the Hawkeyes. "She hit some tough shots, and there's not a whole lot you can do about some of the threes she hit."
Fans won’t have to wait long to see Van Lith and Caitlin Clark face off professionally. The Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever will meet five times this regular season, starting with their highly anticipated season opener on May 17.
