As the final buzzer rang out on October 20 and WNBA fans finally unclenched their bodies after what will certainly go down as one of the best Finals basketball series of all time, the New York Liberty sighed a slightly different sigh of relief to that of those fans.
Breaking a 27-year drought is hard, hard work. But the 2024 Liberty were finally able to accomplish that feat, and partied hard down the Canyon of Heroes with much fanfare. Ignoring the predictable gaffes that came with that celebration, including Eric Adams simply existing at the event, it was the perfect cap off to a season where New York embraced its depth over relying on its star power.
That final piece of the puzzle for the Liberty – benching Courtney Vandersloot in place of Leonie Fiebich and relying on Nyara Sabally in Game 5 to get bucket after bucket in addition to playing key defense down the stretch of the elimination game – unlocked their potential. That, in addition to Jonquel Jones once again being the best Liberty star on the floor in a Finals series, sealed the deal.
By the numbers, New York had a nearly perfect season. They had the best record in the league at 32-8, had a net rating of 11.7, a defensive rating of 95.3, and an offensive rating of 107. They had four players averaging double digit points per game, doing so with a dip in three-point efficiency. In the postseason, their most common lineup of Breanna Stewart, Jones, Sabrina Ionescu, Fiebich, and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton held a net rating of 12.1.
Every lever pulled by Head Coach Sandy Brondello and the Liberty just seemed to work in their favor. That was a huge shift from last season and the Liberty’s Finals series against the Las Vegas Aces, as they were unable to rely on depth players like Fiebich and Sabally for major minutes, and as the team was nowhere near as solid defensively as they were in 2024.
Looking ahead, it’s tough to say what, if anything, the team will be changing for 2025. They’re built for the future, already rostering three-point sharpshooters in Ionescu and Fiebich while also having defensively minded players like Stewart, Jones, and Laney-Hamilton in the starting lineup. Their lead bench player also feels solidified assuming the team plans on protecting Sabally from the Dec. 6 expansion draft.
That, of course, leaves a pretty big player on the outside looking in for a Liberty squad that’s probably willing to let her walk – Vandersloot. With the Golden State Valkyries set to start their inaugural season, they’d love to likely have a veteran point guard like Vandersloot lead a presumably young roster in 2025. The Liberty saw how differently the starting lineup moved with Fiebich in for Vandersloot, and the fact that the team saw a championship as a result of that change might have been enough for them to move on from Vandersloot.
Other than Vandersloot, though, the team is essentially primed to retain the same roster heading into 2025 and before a new collective bargaining agreement is set in stone by the player’s association and the league. With this in mind, look to the Liberty to either keep things simple with their approach to shoring up their bench scoring and guard play, or to try and go all out just once more under this current CBA and sign a big name free agent in an attempt to bolster their efforts.
Between overcoming injuries to Laney-Hamilton and Sabally throughout the season and taking a big gamble on Fiebich being a better fit in the starting lineup, the Liberty have shown they have the ability to make tough decisions about this roster and prosper as a result. That approach shouldn’t be any different headed in 2025 and ahead of the expansion draft.
