The WNBA Olympic break is upon us! The teams have fought through a jam-packed schedule and can catch a bit of a breather. And if you’re a New York Liberty fan, there’s quite a lot to be happy about right now! The squad has a 21-4 record, which is the best record in the league and a franchise record best start to the season. They’ve set two Barclays Center attendance records for a Liberty game. An All-Star in Jonquel Jones. Two Team USA players in Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu. Productivity from new bench players. Wins over top teams. Established chemistry in year two. There’s a lot to reflect on so here’s a look at how the first half of the season went and what to look forward to when the WNBA is back in session.
Major Wins and Learning Losses
One thing is true of the first half of this WNBA season — the Liberty haven’t lost much. They’ve had win streaks of five games and eight games and ended the first half of the season on a four-game win streak. To put it into perspective, New York was 19-6 through 25 games last season, which is still a great record. But this year, they are on another level, as the 21-4 mark is the best start to a season in franchise history.
Their toughest loss of the season came in a game that didn’t count toward regular season standings, when they fell to the Lynx 94-89 in the Commissioner’s Cup Final. While a two-time Commissioner’s Cup championship banner, some extra money and some midseason hardware would have been nice, what was more impressive after this loss was New York’s ability to learn from their mistakes and bounce back. The two teams played a week later, and the Liberty got their revenge in a 76-67 victory. They got some revenge by cleaning up their turnovers from 20 in the loss to only eight in their victory.
New York has also gotten the best of the Sun three times in the first half of this season. Connecticut is currently second in WNBA standings, but the Liberty have had their number the past few seasons. Since the start of 2023, the Liberty have had a 10-1 record against Connecticut across the regular season and playoffs. Ionescu has led the Liberty in scoring in all three games against the Sun, including a 30-point performance in the team’s final game before the break on July 16.
“It’s understanding how great (they are) …they’re well coached, tough, veteran team that holds us accountable,” Ionescu said after playing the Sun. “We can’t take any possessions off…that has helped us throughout the regular season.”
On June 15, in their first matchup against the Aces since falling to them in the 2023 WNBA Finals, New York played one of their best games this year. Jonquel Jones had a career-high 34 points and both Ionescu and Stewart posted double-doubles.
Of New York’s four regular season losses this season, two have come against playoff teams (Lynx and Mercury) and two have come against teams fighting to get into the playoffs (Sky and Fever). In each of these games, the Liberty turned the ball over more than their season average, showcasing a main issue they’ve fought to improve on. In July, the Liberty had the lowest turnover rate in the WNBA.
Jones and Ionescu Dominate
The Liberty’s overall success in 2023 can be credited to the 2023 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart. In her first year in New York, Stewart was unstoppable. Stewart checked off Liberty and WNBA records and was typically the player the team turned to in big moments. While Stewart is still playing at a high level this year, she hasn’t had to do it alone.
A big part of the Liberty’s success this season has been due to the utter domination from Jones and Ionescu. We are seeing a 2021 version of Jones this season, which was the year she was the league MVP. Jones struggled with some lingering injuries to start last season but became the team’s most consistent player in the postseason. Jones started off this season where she left off, averaging 15.6 points per game and 9.2 rebounds. She is also making 57.1% of her shots and looks much more comfortable on the floor compared to last year.
“I’m in better shape obviously,” Jones said. “Everything was new last year, so it was just figuring things out. Now it’s less of that and way more chemistry, so it’s all working out.”
The Liberty have also found themselves with another future MVP in Ionescu, who is having the best season of her young WNBA career. Ionescu is leading the team with 19.4 points per game and 6.2 assists. While Ionescu has always been known for her three-ball, she has elevated her game in so many other ways. She worked on her driving and mid-range game in the offseason, which has opened up more scoring opportunities for her and the team. Her all-around game has improved, in addition to her defense, and Ionescu has proven to be someone else coach Brondello can trust in crunch time.
After scoring 30 points against the Sun, Liberty coach Sandy Brondello gave her praise to Ionescu.
“It’s just big time,” Brondello said. “Her growth from year one to year two to year three, I mean, I didn’t expect her to be as good as she is right now. She has greatness about her… and that’s what greatness is, bringing it every single night.”
A Re-tooled Bench
After losing some of last year’s bench players, it was difficult to know how this year’s bench would perform. Liberty GM Jonathan Kolb brought in Leonie Fiebich and Kennedy Burke from international teams to provide wing depth. Ivana Dojkic was brought in to provide some backcourt depth. The new trio serve as terrific complements to returners Kayla Thornton and Nyara Sabally. Even though Sabally has missed considerable time with a back injury, the depth has improved considerably this season. The bench can come in and provide a spark on any given night and the perimeter defense has improved with the length from Fiebich and Burke. Fiebich is having a big year as a rookie, posting some amazing stat lines and earning minutes in the closing lineup.
“The more minutes I spend on the court with my teammates, it gets easier and easier,” Fiebich said.
Thornton, who has started nine games in lieu of injuries, has upped her game in her second season in New York and always gets Barclays rocking with her three-ball and hustle plays.
“Everyone can see, KT’s been really big for us on both ends of the floor,” Stewart said of Thornton.
Olympic Break = Resting Up and Healing Injuries
The Olympic break comes at a good time for many teams. This month-long break will give players some extra rest both mentally and physically. And for teams marred by injuries, it allows key players to heal and get more treatment. Even with a month off, the WNBA season is still ending around the same time it did last year. As a result, games are much closer together than they were last year. To put it in perspective, around this time last year, New York had only played 19 games. This year? They’ve already played 25 games. Staying healthy is more important than ever.
This break is especially good for the Liberty’s Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. On July 16, she underwent a minor procedure on her right knee and would return in 4-6 weeks. This is an important break for her to recover before making a push to finish out the regular season strong. Laney-Hamilton has been sidelined for seven games this season due to knee soreness. Despite that, she has been a key piece of New York’s starting lineup in the other 18 games. She adds 12.7 points per game, 1.4 steals and is arguably the Liberty’s best perimeter defender.
The break will also be a great time for some other key players to get some rest. Kayla Thornton will have time to recover after being listed as questionable on the injury report in the final game against CT with neck soreness. Jonquel Jones, Kennedy Burke and Courtney Vandersloot will also get some much-needed rest. And I’m sure rookies Jaylyn Sherrod and Marquesha Davis are looking forward to some time off after going right from college to the league.
There’s Still Basketball to Watch!
Even though we’ll have to wait a month to catch the second half of WNBA action, we won’t have to go without seeing some Liberty players in action over the break. During the Olympics, we’ll see Breanna Stewart (third Olympics) and Ionescu (first-time Olympian) looking to help lead Team USA to an eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal alongside some of the WNBA’s best players.
We’ll also get to see Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally rocking the same jersey again as they’ll both represent Team Germany at the Olympics. Even better, they are in the same group as the U.S., so we’ll get to see both teams matchup on Aug. 4. Sandy Brondello will be coaching her Australian Opals as they look to make it to the podium.
A Second Half Preview
When comparing the difficulty of schedule in the first half of the season compared to the second, it’s safe to say that New York has already gotten many of their tough games out of the way. After the break, the Liberty face Vegas and Seattle twice while playing Minnesota and Phoenix once each. While these will be tough matchups, only these seven games out of their 15 left are against teams currently in playoff position.
The final 15 games will be a mix of tough matchups to help the Liberty rev up for the postseason. The games against non-contenders will also test New York’s ability in guarding against complacency.
New York should be in a good spot to hold onto their first seed as long as they play the way they did in the first half of the season. It’s evident that the Liberty have developed their chemistry and feel more comfortable playing with one another after last year. From the team’s book club and videos on social media, it’s safe to say that the vibes are high in the Big Apple.
In the Liberty’s first half of the season losses, many of their mistakes have been self-inflicted. If they can stay healthy and keep the same intensity they had in the first half of the season, New York could be headed for another deep playoff run, with the chance to grab their first ever championship. The Liberty are back in action on August 15 against the Sparks.
“It’s a long season,” Brondello said. “It’s about just playing one game at a time, and let’s just win today, just win the moment. As long as we’re buying into what we want to do, and we’re doing it together, we’re in good shape.”