Liberty Appear Poised for First WNBA Championship

The New York Liberty are the best team in the WNBA, evidenced by a convincing 79-67 win over the two-time defending-champion Las Vegas Aces on Saturday. That win improved the Liberty to 2-0 against the Aces this season as New York became the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season.

With a balanced attack and a league-best 23-4 record, the Libs should be considered the favorites to win their first WNBA championship in October behind the trio of Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu.

The Liberty’s WNBA Finals appearance last season was impressive, but the Aces proved to be the better team in a 4-1 series victory. However, the Liberty have an edge over Las Vegas as a collective this year.

The Aces went 34-6 last year, authoring one of the greatest seasons in WNBA history — but they’ve struggled at times on their way to a 17-9 mark so far this season. Admittedly, they played without point guard Chelsea Gray for the first 12 games of the season while she recovered from a foot injury. Still, A’ja Wilson is enjoying a season for the ages , but the Aces haven’t been able to fully capitalize on her efforts.

In Saturday’s rematch of the 2023 WNBA Finals, the Liberty outworked and outplayed the Aces.

New York outrebounded Las Vegas, 46-30, and maintained control for most of the 40 minutes. The Liberty outscored the Aces 18-8 in the second quarter and held the Aces at arm’s length the rest of the way. When it mattered most, Stewart scored 10 points in the fourth quarter as New York pulled away.

The Liberty can win close games, too. New York is 10-2 in games when the teams are separated by five or fewer points in the final five minutes.

The Libs don’t just match up well against Las Vegas. They match up well against everyone. Indeed, the Liberty are 7-1 this season against top-five opponents (Connecticut, Minnesota, Las Vegas and Seattle).

On the surface, this Liberty team looks much the same as it did in 2023, but there are key differences.

Stewart’s numbers have not matched those of her 2023 MVP season, but the Liberty have a more balanced attack this season. Stewart’s 19.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game are still crucial to the success of the team. But Jones is playing a more prominent role with 14.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, up from 11.3 points and 8.4 boards per game last year.

Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu also has taken a big leap and is a candidate for Most Improved Player. Ionescu is averaging 19.9 points per game in 2024, compared to 17.0 in 2023. Ionescu also is averaging 6.0 assists per game, up from 5.4 last season. Finally, she’s improved her shooting from the floor (42.6%) for the fourth consecutive season. Ionescu has openly talked about working on her floater shot, which she uses multiple times per game. Importantly, her two-point shooting percentage is up to 50%, compared to 38.3% last season.

The Liberty’s depth has seen improvement with veteran presence. Leonie Fiebich, a European star, and Kayla Thornton help New York stay on course when starters are out. This has helped the Liberty mitigate the losses of Courtney Vandersloot and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, both of whom have missed time this season. Laney-Hamilton is currently out with a knee injury, while Vandersloot missed time prior to the Olympics due to a personal matter.

New York has 13 games left in the regular season, and they are picking up momentum. The Liberty boast a 3 1/2-game lead over Connecticut (19-7) and have every chance to claim the No. 1 playoff seed.

It seems as if they are putting all the right pieces together to win the franchise’s first championship.

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