The New York Liberty were among the betting favorites to reach the WNBA Finals entering this season. They did not meet that prediction.
Their injury-filled campaign under first-year head coach Chris DeMarco ended last Friday night at the Barclays Center after being swept 3-0 by the No. 4 seed Atlanta Dream. The No. 8 seed Liberty were sent packing after losing 85-83 in Game 3 of the best-of-five series.
The disappointment could be felt throughout the arena, but what made their exit more disheartening was that the Dream were without four-time All-Star Allisha Gray, the team’s leading scorer this season (19.0 ppg), who injured her hand in Game 1 of the semifinals and missed the rest of the series.
Though the Liberty were without three-time All-Star forward Satou Sabally, their major free-agent signing this offseason, who played only 13 games due to lingering symptoms from a head injury/concussion sustained on June 23 facing the Las Vegas Aces, the team still had a strong core. Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu all logged significant minutes in the opening round 2-0 upset over the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx and against the Dream.
Still, Ionescu, who had a subpar season relative to her resume as one of the WNBA’s best point guards, revealed that she was battling lingering back issues.
“…It was not an easy year for me, physically, mentally, all the above,” said Ionescu when asked about her back. “I’m looking forward to the offseason to be able to get right.”
Ionescu was sidelined 13 games and averaged the fewest assists (4.7) of her seven-year professional career and lowest points per game (14.6) since 2021.
Stewart pointed to the team’s uneven performances as a reason they did not duplicate their 2024 title run, when the franchise captured its first-ever league championship.
“Of course we want to win a championship every single time we step on the court,” said Stewart, who led the Liberty in scoring (27 ppg) in five playoff games. “But it’s really hard in this league and in order to do that, you need to be consistent for the full 44 games…
“I don’t think we were consistent throughout the season. I think that we started to show some life and peak a little bit towards the end and really in the playoffs, but this is not like cramming for a test, you know what I mean?”
The Liberty finished the regular season 26-18 to claim the last playoff spot.
Liberty General Manager Jonathan Kolb assembled championship caliber talent, but did he put the right person on the sidelines? The 40-year-old DeMarco, a former Golden State Warriors assistant from 2012-2026, was given the keys to a new Porsche but was an inexperienced driver.
Some close followers of the Liberty are of the opinion that Kolb should have offered former head coach Sandy Brondello a contract extension instead of choosing not to re-sign her at the end of the 2025 season. Brondello, who piloted the Liberty for four seasons (2022-2025), moved on to the Toronto Tempo, who were 11-33 this season.
With Sabally and the core of the 2024 championship team expected to return next season, the Liberty should again be among the favorites in the 2027 WNBA season. But it will be a long offseason of reflection.
