Sabrina Ionescu.Photo: Ned Dishman/Getty ImagesSabrina Ionescu’s parents knew she would make it to the WNBA back when she was in high school!A tweet recently went viral from Luka Dukich — the director of content for both the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago White Sox — revealing that years ago, Ionescu’s dad Dan was his Uber driver. During small talk, Dan expressed that his daughter was “not good” at basketball, but “the best.““As soon as I read the first few lines of the tweet, I knew they were talking about my Dad,” Ionescu, 23, tells PEOPLE of the viral moment.The New York Liberty player adds, “From day one, he and my mom have been my biggest fans, so it’s not surprising he was telling people about me back then.“John Locher/AP/ShutterstockIn a series of tweets, Dukichwrote, “This is a true story. I was in San Francisco a couple years ago, and got to talking to our Uber driver. He was a friendly Romanian dude. He asked me about work and we started talking ball.““He told me his daughter was going to play college basketball. ‘She must be good!’ I said,” the director of contentrecalled. “He turned to me and raised a finger and said ‘No. She is not good. She is THE BEST.'“Dukich continued, “I’m from the Balkans, I’ve been around proud Eastern Euro parents my entire life, they’re people who ALWAYS have ‘the best’ everything. I sort of laughed and was like ‘that’s awesome, man.'““We talked hoops a little bit longer and he gave me his card in case I ever needed a ride somewhere,” hewrote, along with the picture of Dan’s business card.Dukich added, “Couple years later it turns out he was 100% right. She WAS the best.““Yep, sounds like my dad… haha,” Ionescuwrotein response.The now-professional athlete played basketball at the University of Oregon and in 2020, her dream came true as the first round, first pick overall in the WNBA.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.She was also a mentee of the lateKobe Bryant.Ionesco’s father Dan also hit a major accomplishment since his encounter with Dukich as an Uber driver: the proud parenttold ESPNin March 2019 that he started his own limousine company following years as a cab driver.
Sabrina Ionescu.Photo: Ned Dishman/Getty Images
Sabrina Ionescu’s parents knew she would make it to the WNBA back when she was in high school!A tweet recently went viral from Luka Dukich — the director of content for both the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago White Sox — revealing that years ago, Ionescu’s dad Dan was his Uber driver. During small talk, Dan expressed that his daughter was “not good” at basketball, but “the best.““As soon as I read the first few lines of the tweet, I knew they were talking about my Dad,” Ionescu, 23, tells PEOPLE of the viral moment.The New York Liberty player adds, “From day one, he and my mom have been my biggest fans, so it’s not surprising he was telling people about me back then.“John Locher/AP/ShutterstockIn a series of tweets, Dukichwrote, “This is a true story. I was in San Francisco a couple years ago, and got to talking to our Uber driver. He was a friendly Romanian dude. He asked me about work and we started talking ball.““He told me his daughter was going to play college basketball. ‘She must be good!’ I said,” the director of contentrecalled. “He turned to me and raised a finger and said ‘No. She is not good. She is THE BEST.'“Dukich continued, “I’m from the Balkans, I’ve been around proud Eastern Euro parents my entire life, they’re people who ALWAYS have ‘the best’ everything. I sort of laughed and was like ‘that’s awesome, man.'““We talked hoops a little bit longer and he gave me his card in case I ever needed a ride somewhere,” hewrote, along with the picture of Dan’s business card.Dukich added, “Couple years later it turns out he was 100% right. She WAS the best.““Yep, sounds like my dad… haha,” Ionescuwrotein response.The now-professional athlete played basketball at the University of Oregon and in 2020, her dream came true as the first round, first pick overall in the WNBA.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.She was also a mentee of the lateKobe Bryant.Ionesco’s father Dan also hit a major accomplishment since his encounter with Dukich as an Uber driver: the proud parenttold ESPNin March 2019 that he started his own limousine company following years as a cab driver.
Sabrina Ionescu’s parents knew she would make it to the WNBA back when she was in high school!
A tweet recently went viral from Luka Dukich — the director of content for both the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago White Sox — revealing that years ago, Ionescu’s dad Dan was his Uber driver. During small talk, Dan expressed that his daughter was “not good” at basketball, but “the best.”
“As soon as I read the first few lines of the tweet, I knew they were talking about my Dad,” Ionescu, 23, tells PEOPLE of the viral moment.
The New York Liberty player adds, “From day one, he and my mom have been my biggest fans, so it’s not surprising he was telling people about me back then.”
John Locher/AP/Shutterstock
In a series of tweets, Dukichwrote, “This is a true story. I was in San Francisco a couple years ago, and got to talking to our Uber driver. He was a friendly Romanian dude. He asked me about work and we started talking ball.”
“He told me his daughter was going to play college basketball. ‘She must be good!’ I said,” the director of contentrecalled. “He turned to me and raised a finger and said ‘No. She is not good. She is THE BEST.'”
Dukich continued, “I’m from the Balkans, I’ve been around proud Eastern Euro parents my entire life, they’re people who ALWAYS have ‘the best’ everything. I sort of laughed and was like ‘that’s awesome, man.'”
“We talked hoops a little bit longer and he gave me his card in case I ever needed a ride somewhere,” hewrote, along with the picture of Dan’s business card.
Dukich added, “Couple years later it turns out he was 100% right. She WAS the best.”
“Yep, sounds like my dad… haha,” Ionescuwrotein response.
The now-professional athlete played basketball at the University of Oregon and in 2020, her dream came true as the first round, first pick overall in the WNBA.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
She was also a mentee of the lateKobe Bryant.
Ionesco’s father Dan also hit a major accomplishment since his encounter with Dukich as an Uber driver: the proud parenttold ESPNin March 2019 that he started his own limousine company following years as a cab driver.
source: people.com
