The ball is in the air and Jonquel Jones wins the tip for the Liberty. Newly acquired point guard Natasha Cloud brings the ball up and runs the first set: A pin down screen to Sabrina Ionescu with the slip to the basket by Jones off a double from Jacy Sheldon and Tina Charles.
That possession gave the defending champions its first basket of the 2025 preseason. The New York Liberty come into the season the favorite to win it again. They revamped the roster and it looks better than the team that won the title in an overtime thriller. Coach Sandy Brondello comes into her fourth year as the first chair and each year, she has seen a slight difference in her roster that eventually becomes an important piece to the pursuit of a title.
Inside the first preseason game
The New York Liberty faced the Connecticut Sun on Friday in a northeast battle that brought out physicality and grit. In a 94-86 loss, we saw flashes of what the Liberty will look like on both sides of the ball. Although Breanna Stewart and Leonie Fiebich were out, the champs gave fans a glimpse of what their offense will present in the season. Incredible ball movement, phenomenal ball penetration to kick out to open shooters, and keen screen navigation from Natasha Cloud, Sabrina Ionescu, and Rebekah Gardner gives the Liberty a forecast to what will come this season.
Kennedy Burke was also a bright light, providing versatility, shooting and passing to cutting players on the wing and baseline. Nyara Sabally was in Finals form, providing great screening, rim running and free throw line flashing and finding ways to score the basketball. A familiar face of this Liberty team came into the game an instantly gave the fans something to roar about – Marine Johannes! Her patented fall away corner 3 late in the first quarter after a year away from the team brought the Barclays Center crowd to its feet.
This version of the defending champions indeed looks like they have a chance to repeat.
The Liberty have room for improvement
There are a few things the Liberty will have to work on if they want to continue their pursuit of a repeat. The Liberty collected 18 turnovers, in which Connecticut rewarded themselves with 26 points from it. There were also glaring issues in defensive communication that led to Connecticut having open shots on the perimeter and in the paint. Fortunately, they’re all simple adjustments that can be corrected. Even with the issues shown in Friday’s game, the Liberty brings a good problem to the table – depth.
It will be interesting to see how Coach Brondello manages this going into the season. The Liberty are complete in almost every position, even with Betnijah Laney-Hamilton expected to miss the season. There is a plot twist: $186,000 is now suspended, which gives the Liberty room to sign players that would have been cut in training camp.
The New York Liberty are poised to repeat as champions. The acquisitions, development of draft picks, and free agent signings are something that fans should be eager to see in 2025. Yes, there are things that the team need to adjust with and the first preseason game displayed that. As we approach Ring Day, the Liberty will travel to Eugene, Oregon for an exhibition game versus the Toyota Antelopes. The champs and their pursuit of a repeat is in their hands.