The New York Liberty have only played two games since the WNBA’s season started back up and it’s still evident they are the best team in the league.
It’s not only their now 23-4 record, but it’s their players and the way this season’s gone.
Not to mention the fact that everything was on full display in their 79-67 victory over the Las Vegas Aces on August 17.
Early in the game and even down the stretch, it looked as if the defending champions were going to knock off the top-seeded Liberty. New York’s play, however, told a different story.
Even with the Aces jumping out to a 16-9 lead by the first timeout and even when Las Vegas had cut the deficit to four points with under six and a half minutes to go in the fourth quarter, New York found a way to prevail. Anything the back-to-back champions threw at them the Liberty found a way to counter.
All WNBA fans need to know is it’s August and New York has already clinched a spot in the playoffs that begin in over a month on September 22. That’s how well this team has performed this year.
New York’s Dynamic Duo
The Yankees have Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. The Knicks have Jalen Brunson and now Mikal Bridges. Even the Jets have a second shot at seeing what an Aaron Rodgers and Garrett Wilson pairing will look like this season.
As for the Liberty, they have Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu , a duo that has only added to New York’s sports fandom lore.
Stewart and Ionescu made the WNBA Finals in their first season playing together, and now 27 games into year two, they are in prime position to make it back there again. Just six days after winning a gold medal in Paris with the United States women’s national basketball team, Stewart and Ionescu were the ones who ultimately drove the Liberty past the stacked Aces.
Ionescu performed right on par with how she has this season, finishing with a team-high 23 points as well as six rebounds. This season, Ionescu has led New York in scoring with 19.9 points per game. Stewart, who leads the Liberty in steals and blocks per game, also had a strong outing, finishing with 18 points and seven rebounds.
It’s not just the New York’s dynamic duo that sets them apart from the rest of the league, however. It’s key performances from other players that give the Liberty an edge versus other WNBA juggernauts.
Players like Jonquel Jones , who finished with a double-double against the Aces, or Leonie Fiebich , who contributed 12 points and seven rebounds, take a significant part of the offensive and defensive load off of the Liberty’s stars.
Who The Liberty May Have To Worry About
There are plenty of fellow contenders throughout the WNBA that could give the Liberty some trouble come the playoffs.
In the Eastern Conference, there’s certainly the Connecticut Sun to keep an eye on. They are just three and a half games back from the Liberty, and with players like Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner , the Sun could easily contend with a team like New York.
Then there’s the up-and-coming Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky, who both have young squads ready to fight for a playoff spot. Players like the Fever’s Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston and the Sky’s Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso could just be difference makers when all is said and done for their respective teams down the stretch of this season.
Out West, there’s obviously the Aces who the Liberty must keep on their radar. Las Vegas has won the last two WNBA championships and won’t go down without a fight in any playoff series they are faced with.
The Aces already lost to the Liberty in their first game back from the mid-season break and now have to face the top-seeded team in the Western Conference in the Minnesota Lynx twice in a row. This next stretch in their schedule will undoubtedly be the biggest test of the Ace’s season and only time will tell where they sit in the standings after their two-game stand with the Lynx.
The Lynx are easily a Finals contender in their own right. Their duo of Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride could prove challenging for any team in the league, including the Liberty. With someone like Cheryl Reeve at the helm as well, hot off a gold medal coaching Team USA in the Olympics, Minnesota could easily meet up in a potential Finals matchup with the Liberty.
The Liberty may have come up short in the WNBA Finals last year and the Commissioner’s Cup Championship earlier this season, but this year may just be their chance to flip the script. It just may be New York’s year in the WNBA after all.
“Obviously we’re super excited to clinch a spot in the playoffs,” Sabrina Ionescu said in a postgame press conference following the win over the Aces on August 17. “Obviously our goal isn’t just to make it there, but it’s gonna be continuing to win these games that we have coming up and continuing to just get better as a team and focus on ourselves.”
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