It took a long time, but the New York Liberty have finally won a WNBA title. After losing to the Houston Comets in three of the first four WNBA Finals, it was starting to feel like the Libs were cursed.
Not so. Last year, the team defeated the Lynx in five games, with Jonquel Jones winning Finals MVP. Jones and Breanna Stewart make up arguably the best frontcourt in the league, but there are other questions about this roster that could pose an issue in the team's attempt to repeat.
Here are three key questions for the New York Liberty in 2025.
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How will the Natasha Cloud-Sabrina Ionescu backcourt work?
The Liberty lost Courtney Vandersloot this offseason, but were able to take advantage of the Connecticut firesale to trade for Natasha Cloud, who never even played a game for the Sun despite being the centerpiece of the trade that sent Alyssa Thomas to Phoenix.
Pairing Cloud with Sabrina Ionescu can help cover up a big issue for the Liberty, which was the defense from the backcourt. Cloud made the All-Defensive Second Team last year and should provide an instant boost on that end of the floor.
Offensively, Cloud's someone who likes having the ball in her hands, ranking in the top five in assists per game in five consecutive seasons. If you look at Ionescu's numbers, her best shooting season was 2023, when the team got a full season from Vandersloot. Her numbers dropped last year with Vandersloot missing time.
Cloud's addition should give Ionescu more opportunities as a catch-and-shoot player, which theoretically will lead to a rise in her efficiency.
Is New York's lost depth going to hurt its chances of repeating?
Courtney Vandersloot is in Chicago. Kayla Thornton is in Golden State. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton is out for the season after an injury in Unrivaled. So, what does that mean for the Liberty?
If everyone is healthy, it probably won't mean a ton. Marine Johannès is the third guard. Leonie Fiebich is a great backup wing. Nyara Sabally can give the team good minutes at the five. A healthy Rebekah Gardner could be a game changer.
Still, the depth feels a little more tenuous this season. Players like Kennedy Burke and Jaylyn Sherrod are solid WNBA players, but maybe aren't players you want playing too big of a role on a title contender.
Again, New York should be fine, but as the wear and tear of the season adds up, this will be something to monitor.
How many cool plays will Marine Johannès make?
I firmly believe that no basketball player on earth — man or woman, pro or college — is more fun to watch than Marine Johannès.
Johannès does things like this:
She's got unreal court awareness and the ability to fire a pass to anyone on the floor at any moment. Are there times where she doesn't need to go for the flashy pass? Sure, and the fact that she ranked just 68th in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio in her most recent WNBA season is good evidence for why she works best as a secondary ball-handler.
It's a good thing she's a Lib, then! With Cloud and Ionescu, there will rarely be a time where Johannès is going to be out there as the only ball-handler on the floor, so she can operate mostly as an off-ball spot-up shooter who can put the ball on the floor and make incredible things happen when she wants to.
If you're new to the WNBA — maybe someone who started watching for Caitlin Clark last year, when Johannès sat out because of the Olympics — then you're going to be in for a real treat the first time you watch Johannès play basketball.