Sabrina Ionescu, John Starks, & the Power of Defining Moments

Two New York guards with similar struggles in the Finals are a reminder of how history chooses to remember the victors and lament the folly of the defeated

New York City always remembers its sports stars, but it immortalizes its champions. Clyde Frazier, Derek Jeter, Mark Messier, and Eli Manning are icons in the city and have their stories of greatness told from generation to generation, as if it were ancient mythology. The New York Liberty joined the club of New York champions this week with an overtime victory against the Minnesota Lynx in a winner take all game 5 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Jonquel Jones, the former league MVP who is in her second year with the Liberty, rightfully took home Finals MVP honors with 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game on 56% shooting from the field. Jones, with superb effort on both ends of the floor, was the anchor that led to the Liberty winning its first WNBA title. But the player that may be deified the most in years to come is Sabrina Ionescu, the fifth-year guard who has helped to take the Liberty from the cellar to winning its first title in franchise history. Ionescu in this series had incredible moments but also ones that were frustrating.

Her play throughout was not unlike another New York basketball player that was revered in the…