After six Finals appearances and 28 seasons, the New York Liberty are finally WNBA champions. Their dramatic 87-82 overtime win over the Minnesota Lynx in Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA Finals ended the ignominy of being the last original franchise without a title.
Fueled by their defeat to the Las Vegas Aces in the 2023 Finals, the Liberty rolled through the regular season. They were the clear best team, and clinched the No. 1 overall seed and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. After sweeping the Atlanta Dream in the first round, they got revenge on the Aces in the semifinals with a fairly comfortable four-game victory.
In the Finals, though, they ran into a Lynx team that had gone 2-1 against them in the regular season and beaten them in the Commissioner's Cup championship. The Lynx's toughness and defensive intensity caused real problems for the Liberty, who were also battling the demons of last year's loss at the final stage. Eventually, by the thinnest of margins, they got the job done.
They will spend the next weeks and months celebrating, but soon it will be time to ask the big question: how can they do it again?
Season at a glance
- Record: 32-8 (No. 1 seed)
- Offensive rating: 107.0 (first)
- Defensive rating: 95.3 (third)
- Net rating: plus-11.7 (first)
Biggest strength
Versatility
There are a number of talented teams in the league, but what put the Liberty over the top was their versatility on both sides of the ball, which reached a new level when they put Leonie Fiebich into the starting lineup. They had size at all positions, and everyone in that starting group could shoot (even if they didn't always prove it in the Finals) and defend, which allowed them to space the floor and switch on the other end. It's no surprise that they were the only team to finish in the top three in both offensive and defensive rating.
Biggest weakness
Inconsistency
There wasn't much you could criticize the Liberty about this season, but they were prone to bouts of inconsistency. Turnovers and poor shooting were the two biggest issues on that front, as we saw during the Finals. When the Liberty lost their way on offense, they could get very sloppy with the ball and there were times when their 3-point shooting would fall off a cliff. They had so much talent that it often didn't matter, and Game 5 was a perfect example, as they shot 2 of 23 from behind the arc and still won.
Key free agents
- Rebekah Gardner
- Marine Johannes
- Breanna Stewart
- Courtney Vandersloot
- Han Xu
The most important player in this group is Breanna Stewart. She will once again be an unrestricted free agent, but there really shouldn't be any suspense. It would be a major surprise if Stewart leaves her home state to sign elsewhere, especially after winning a title. She will likely only sign a one-year deal in order to become a free agent again in 2026 after the new collective bargaining agreement is in place, but most of the league will be in that boat. There shouldn't be much concern about Stewart's future in New York.
After that, there's much less certainty. Vandersloot will turn 36 before the 2025 season begins. If she wants to keep playing there's a good chance the Liberty welcome her back, but certainly not at the $197 thousand she was making this season.
One of the forgotten aspects of this Liberty title run is that they did it without Gardner, who missed the entire season due to a foot injury. The veteran would be a perfect fit for their versatile team given her defensive ability and reliable 3-point shot. New York traded two second-round picks to acquire her from the Chicago Sky so they will be eager to sign her this winter.
Marine Johannes and Han Xu both decided to stay overseas this summer. Johannes is a reserved free agent, which means the Liberty have exclusive negotiating rights, as long as they offer her a qualifying offer. Assuming she returns to the WNBA in 2025, it will likely be with the Liberty. Xu's future is less clear. She falls into the rare "Suspended--Contract Expired" category. Again, the Liberty have exclusive negotiating rights with her and do not need to make a qualifying offer. Whether Xu wants to return to the WNBA is unclear at this point. Likewise, the Liberty may not be interested in bringing her back or have the cap space to do so.
If the Liberty re-sign Stewart and Vandersloot, and essentially swap Kennedy Burke and Ivana Dojkic (also free agents this winter), for Gardner and Johannes, which is a very realistic path, they would improve the team without even dipping into the trade market or looking at outside free agents.
All told, this could end up being a pretty straightforward offseason for the Liberty, which is exactly what you want coming off a championship.
Expansion draft concerns
Perhaps the main issue for the Liberty this offseason is the expansion draft, which affects the best and deepest teams much more than the bottom feeders. Each team can only protect six players, and the Liberty have a larger core than that, which means they're almost certainly going to lose a key contributor.
Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Fiebich seem like locks to be protected. That leaves one spot between Finals hero Nyara Sabally, Johannes and Kayla Thornton. It remains to be seen who the Liberty will protect, and they're allowed to negotiate with the Golden State Valkyries on potential trades, but losing a rotation player appears inevitable.
Draft outlook
Ahead of the 2023 season, the Dallas Wings sent Marina Mabrey to the Chicago Sky as part of a four-team blockbuster that has made, and will continue to make, a significant impact on the entire league. As part of that deal, the Liberty traded Michaela Onyenwere to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for a first-round pick-swap in 2025. (They also somehow convinced the Sky to give them the draft rights to Fiebich in that deal, which remains a head scratcher.)
As a result, the Liberty can now jump from No. 12 to No. 7 overall in the 2025 WNBA draft. The ultimate prize for the Liberty would have been if the Mercury fell apart this season and landed in the lottery, but jumping up to No. 7 is still a big win. There, they'll have a much better chance of finding an impact player who can not only help immediately, but extend their championship window.
There are no glaring needs for the Liberty heading into next season, but they could use point guard and frontcourt depth, the former of which will be easier to find in this class. Someone like Texas guard Rori Harmon (if she declares) or South Carolina guard Te-Hina Paopao could be an option to address the backcourt. If UCLA's Janiah Barker is still available, she would certainly fit as a frontcourt option, or they could look at someone like French forward Dominique Malonga as a draft-and-stash option.
The Liberty traded their 2025 second-round pick to the Sky as part of the Gardner deal, so their only other pick is the last one in the draft, No. 38 overall. The odds of finding a useful player at that point are extremely low.