The Liberty’s season came down to eight seconds, one point, a struggling double-teamed Breanna Stewart and a missed Courtney Vandersloot three. But really, it was so much more than a last-ditch drawn-up play gone wrong that sealed New York’s fate as WNBA finalists rather than champions. “I put the ball in the hands of the MVP because we trust her,” coach Sandy Brondello said after the Game 4 loss of Stewart getting the ball. “It just didn’t work out today.”
New York’s stated objective ahead of the 2023 season was to win a championship. The group fell short of that lofty goal, running up against a determined Aces team in the WNBA Finals. And instead of the Liberty celebrating with their Brooklyn fans, it was Las Vegas that hoisted the trophy in front of a Barclays Center crowd after a narrow 70–69 Game 4 victory.
Candice Ward/USA TODAY Sports
What went wrong for New York?
A number of things. But before unpacking what could’ve gone differently for the Liberty, it’s important to acknowledge that a lot went right. “Just to get to a final, it’s not easy. This is our first year together. It took Vegas a few years to get to where we were,” said Brondello. “Things obviously we know can still get better but overall just really proud of the group.”
New York charged to a 32–8 regular season (doubling its win total from a year before), punching its ticket to the Finals for the first time since 2002 and galvanizing a ravenous fan base in the process. Stewart averaged 23 points and 9.3 rebounds while setting a league record for the most 40-point games in a single season (four), earning this year’s MVP award. She, along with fellow new additions Jonquel Jones and Vandersloot, provided a jolt to a starting lineup that featured Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney, living up to the preseason superteam hype. Chemistry isn’t cultivated overnight though, and so it took some time for New York’s new look to jell. But with reps, Brondello’s team came together, no small feat for a disparate group of MVPs, stars and WNBA champions.
“When your best players buy in I think great success can happen. And you got Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot and JJ [Jonquel Jones] just buying into what we want to do and accomplish,” Brondello said ahead of Game 4. “It’s not easy just to throw five players out there and go play. We’ve had to build them up.” Considering the relatively short runaway, the Liberty may have taken this newly created squad as far as it was meant to go this season. “You can’t build a superteam in a couple months,” said Aces guard Kelsey Plum during Wednesday’s trophy ceremony. “It takes years.” To Plum’s point, New York’s 2023 title run was missing two critical elements out of the team’s control: time and experience. The Liberty players have individual Finals knowledge, but they haven’t been in the trenches together the way Las Vegas has.
That doesn’t lessen the sting the Liberty are likely feeling, as the team didn’t play their best basketball in the Finals—far from it. New York shot 36.1% from the field and 34.6% from three in its Game 4 loss, reflective of the squad’s middling offense throughout the series. Stewart finished Wednesday with 10 points, shooting a dismal 3-of-17 from the field and missing all three of her attempted three-point shots. Her postseason performance was uncharacteristic for Stewart and not reminiscent of the clutch player who led the Storm to two WNBA titles. “I didn’t play my best throughout the playoffs. … It’s a struggle and it’s disappointing because I know I’m the start,” said Stewart. “It just means there’s more room to grow and I need to continue to get better, so I’m my best in these big moments.”
Others struggled, too, with the Liberty backcourt outscored in the opening two matchups by a healthy margin. “I feel like this was a big missed opportunity,” said Jones. “Anytime you look back at a game, you want to go out there and play at the level you know you can. We got closed out not playing the way we played.” Brondello echoed that sentiment, saying her team “didn’t play to our identity.”
Where will New York go now?
Laney, Ionescu and Vandersloot are all under contract. There’s little question as to where Stewart, who would be an unrestricted free agent, will end up next season, with Liberty GM Jonathan Kolb revealing that “Stewie will 100% be cored.” Stewart took that a step further, hinting at a prolonged New York tenure. “I’m excited for what we’re doing here in New York and with the Liberty,” she said. “I’m looking forward to it for many years to come.” Jones is also facing free agency, but her future is less certain. Kolb applauded Jones’s playoff performance before calling the star big “a player we definitely want to retain.” On her offseason approach and plans for next year, Jones said she still had meetings to attend. “I have to go in and have some conversations, but it’s been an amazing season,” said Jones. “I love my teammates and I just have to go from there." The feeling is mutual, with Ionescu saying, “JJ staying is a key part of what we’re building here. Being able to see her growth through this year was nothing short of amazing, and she’s the reason we got as far as we did.”
Should New York’s core return as expected, instead of starting the 2024 season as it did in ’23, working to establish an identity, the group will be able to hit the ground running. There will be some compelling fodder for motivation, too, a bitter taste lingering in the Liberty’s mouths until April. For Stewart, she had rarely lost throughout her collegiate and professional career, and certainly not at this level or in this disappointing a fashion. “I know what it feels like to win championships,” said Stewart, “and now I know what it feels like to lose one, and I don’t want to have that feeling again.” The group, which many of the members described as close-knit, now knows what it feels like to face heartbreak together. They also, critically, built a culture together, elevating the New York fan community together. “It’s unfortunate because we were so close, and I know I wanted it so bad,” said Laney. “We can take it as a learning experience. So moving forward, we’re definitely using that as fuel.”
The Liberty will enter next season in an enviable position: with their stars—and for their sake, hopefully including Jones—bought in and with something to prove. The superteam rivalry between the Aces and Liberty, stoked by the Finals, will only get spicier, too. It will be title or bust for New York again next year, and, lucky for WNBA fans, the already high stakes will only be higher.
