With just 13 days remaining until the official start of the WNBA season, I’ll be counting down with a daily mini preview of each of the league’s 13 teams. Stay tuned as we break down what to watch, who to watch, and what to expect from every squad.

Table of Contents

• Training Camp and Preseason Reminder

• “Wanna See Me Do It Again?”

• Hoops & Hype: Media Picks

  • Film Session: WBB Highlights & Insights 📽️

  • Booked & Busy: WBB Reads 👓

  • Drip Report 💧

Training Camp and Preseason Reminder

Teams are inviting a ton of players to training camp to battle it out for roster spots. Each team can bring in up to 18 players, so expect to see a lot of additions over the next few days.

To stay updated on who’s in and out of camp, check out Across the Timeline and the WNBA Transaction page.

“Wanna See Me Do It Again?”

Riding the high from a never-ending Championship tour, the New York Liberty are ready to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke. They CAN repeat, even with the changes to their lineup.

This offseason, we saw the departure of Courtney Vandersloot (congrats on the baby, Slooty!), Kayla Thornton was taken by Golden State in the expansion draft, and Betnijah Laney will miss most of the season, if not all of it, due to a knee injury sustained at Unrivaled. If you rewatch Game 5 of the Finals, you’ll see just how big a loss KT is—our tenacious dawg. Betnijah, of course, won us Game 2 and played elite defense throughout the playoffs. These players were crucial to the 2024 run. Fortunately, GM Jonathan Kolb saw this coming and worked to reinforce the lineup.

First, Sloot announced during Unrivaled that she was looking to play a bigger role on a team after getting benched for the playoffs (it was the right move), and she ended up, not surprisingly, returning home to the Chicago Sky. Point Guardless, Kolb made it a priority to trade for Natasha Cloud, an established and championship-winning PG who has 1 WNBA All-Defensive First Team( 1x) and WNBA All-Defensive Second Team (2x, including last season). This addition allows for Sabrina to play off the ball more as well as making sure we don’t drop off defensively with Betnijah’s absence

Second, Kayla Thornton was taken in the expansion draft. Liberty fans saw this coming once Nyara Sabally showed out in Game 5. There was no way the Liberty were leaving Nyara unprotected, given her huge upside. And as I mentioned before, Golden State’s GM was formerly the Assistant GM of the Liberty, so it was no surprise they picked KT. To help replace KT’s defensive energy and leadership, Kolb secured veteran Rebekah Gardner, added Isabelle Harrison, and re-signed Kennedy Burke. Honestly, I think we’ll be fine skill-wise, but KT was the heartbeat of this team. I expect KB and Tash to step into that role this year.

Third, after joining Unrivaled as a relief player and absolutely showing out in her first game, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton reinjured her meniscus. The injury required surgery, and the Liberty announced that she would be out for the majority of the season, with a possible return in the fall before the playoffs. This is another huge blow to the Liberty locker room. With B, we’re just better in every way. A really good example from last season was the semi-final series against Vegas. She had Chelsea Gray in Alcatraz. Unfortunately, this nagging knee injury has kept her sidelined on and off over the past few seasons, and now possibly this one too. It was actually after her injury that Kolb prioritized trading for Natasha Cloud. The same additions—KB, Bek, and Izzy—will help with our defense, but also expect Leonie Fiebich to have a permanent spot in the starting lineup and take on more of the defensive load.

One upside to B’s injury is that she’ll likely be suspended for the upcoming season, which, in this case, is a technicality. It will allow the Liberty to have more cap space this season, AND next season, the Liberty will retain B’s rights, so she won’t become an unrestricted free agent. For this season, Unrivaled will be covering her WNBA salary as part of their player insurance. This definitely works in favor of our younger talent, like Marquesha Davis, Jaylyn Sherrod, and Esmery Martinez. As of today (May 13), we should be getting updates, since it’s the deadline to finalize opening day rosters. So, we’ll find out soon if B is officially suspended for the season. And knowing my luck, the news will drop right after I send this bitch out lol.

Marine Johannès is also back for the season. She’s the longest-tenured Liberty player and the last remaining player from the Rochester days before the Tsais bought the team. I feel like she’s made real improvements since 2023. Even watching her in EuroLeague and the Turkish league, she’s hitting more threes—and more difficult ones at that. She’s made some defensive improvements, and her passing is still elite. And that crossover move she added??????? c’mon somebody! Welcome back, MJ!

Also, keep an eye out for Leonie Fiebich’s leap this year. I bet she is going to be more comfortable and dominant now that she has one year under her belt. She’ll be joining the team on Thursday after winning another championship in La Liga, the Spanish league.

I could go on and on about the Libs, but here are two things I’ve landed on:

1. The Liberty have everything they need to repeat.

2. If I never hear New York, New York or Empire State of Mind again, it’ll be too soon.

What to Look Out For:

Breanna Stewart is coming off a meniscus aggravation, which you could see affecting her during the Finals last year. She also struggled a bit in Unrivaled, where we saw her wearing a leg sleeve, something she doesn’t usually do. When the Mist didn’t make it to the Unrivaled playoffs, Stewie used that time to get a meniscus cleanup, but she’s not expected to miss any time.

The current narrative around Stewie is that she’s out of her prime and no longer one of the top two players in the league. Some Liberty fans are concerned she won’t be as effective this year. But yesterday, in just 15 minutes of play during the preseason game, she dropped 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. She was getting lift on her jumps and looked great. I think this is the year Stewie reminds everyone who she is.

Kennedy Burke is primed for a great year. You can tell the Liberty coaches and front office trust KB to take on the role as the dawg off the bench. In the preseason games, I noticed she was more aggressive on both offense and defense. She recently mentioned that she’s coming into this season healthy, unlike last year, and it really shows in her game. I have faith in KB. I think she has the ability to step into this role and give us the spark we need off the bench, especially when the starters are struggling. Let’s see how she rises to the occasion.

Sabrina Ionescu. I think this is the year Sabrina enters the MVP conversation. With the proverbial monkey off her back, she silenced the haters and brought a ring to the last original franchise still waiting on one. She looks stronger, her hand has healed up nicely, and she seems more confident and lighthearted. From the few minutes she played, it’s clear she’s been refining her driving, floater, and midrange game, while also working to raise her three-point efficiency back to the 2023 levels. She’s oozing with confidence. This is the year people stop questioning whether or not she’s the leader of this team.

Question Marks

• Can the Liberty repeat?

• Can our bench not only maintain leads but build them?

• Will we miss Sloot’s elite passing and game management?

• Will Nyara, Leo, and Marine be exhausted playing WNBA and Eurobasket this season?

• Will the leadership styles of Stewie, Sab, and Tash clash or mesh this season?

• Will Clara and Joe Tsai be giving Season Ticket Holders replica rings like the Aces did????

CAP SPACE: $289,893

Free Agency and Roster Updates

The Coaches + Front Office

Hoops & Hype: Media Picks

Check out some of the cool podcasts, videos, reads, and fashion I saw this week.

@ekeryan

Breanna Stewart vs Toyota Antelopes • 16 points • 2 steals • 7/9 FG • 15 minutes played #basketball #ball #Basketballhighlights #wnba #... See more

@gabetothejordan

The @nyliberty took over the Met Gala last night 🥶🗽 #newyorkliberty #nyliberty #sabrinaionescu #breannastewart #jonqueljones #womensbasket... See more

@wnba

OH MY MJ 😱 Marine Johannès creates space and drains her 4th triple of the night! #wnba #marinejohannes

@wnba

Turn us up, Sab 🤣 Homecoming energy is in full effect! #sabrinaionescu

Film Session: WBB Highlights & Insights 📽️

Booked & Busy: WBB Reads 👓

Drip Report 💧