It's pretty rare in a league with a hard salary cap like the WNBA for a team to win a championship and then get better the next year, but it appears that's what the New York Liberty have done.
Sparked by the addition of Natasha Cloud, New York currently looks like the WNBA's best team, posting a 23.8 net rating through the first three games, the best mark in the league.
Here are four reasons why the Libs look set to repeat as champions.
Natasha Cloud looks like New York's missing piece
One important question this offseason was how New York would make up for the loss of point guard Courtney Vandersloot after the veteran left in free agency to rejoin the Chicago Sky.
The team didn't have to wait too long to answer that, taking advantage of the Connecticut Sun fire sale to trade for Natasha Cloud.
Cloud has been the perfect complement to Sabrina Ionescu in the New York backcourt. Her defensive ability helps cover up one of the biggest weaknesses of the team from last season. Cloud's 2.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per game have helped the team get stops on that end of the floor.
But Cloud's more than just a defender. She's shooting 50% from behind the arc, which has helped cover up Ionescu's poor start from 3-point range. In fact, Cloud is surprisingly the top scorer for the Liberty this season and her 55.6 field goal percentage ranks only behind Kennedy Burke and Jonquel Jones among the team's players.
The Liberty have the league's best offense
Cloud has helped the Liberty post the league's best offensive rating, with the team averaging 114.7 points per 100 possessions.
One reason the offense is so good is simply that the team has a number of elite offensive players. Jonquel Jones is shooting 57.6 percent from the floor and currently ranks third among qualified players in 3-point percentage while also scoring efficiently at the rim.
Breanna Stewart isn't scoring at the volume we're used to seeing from her, but she's been one of the league's best shooters inside the arc, knocking down 68.2 percent of her 2-point attempts. She ranks third in the WNBA in field goal percentage in the restricted area at 86.7 percent. This is all despite Stewart's uncharacteristic struggles from deep.
In fact, the team has multiple key players who aren't shooting great from deep. Ionescu is only shooting 22.2 percent from 3-point range. Stewart is at 18.2 percent. Both players are far better shooters than the small sample so far, so this offense should have a chance to actually get better!
New York also has the league's second-best defense
Defense wins championships. Last year's Liberty proved that was true by posting the third-best defensive rating in the league, but this year they might be even better on that end, sitting second in defensive rating behind only the Phoenix Mercury.
One key to this team's defensive success has been its rim protection, with the Liberty ranking first in the league in blocks per game.
Opponents are shooting just 46.2 percent in the restricted area against the Liberty, an absurd number. To put that into context, the team that shot the worst in the restricted area last season was Chicago, which shot 55.8 percent from there. 10 of the league's 12 teams shot 60 percent or better at the rim, so for New York to be holding its opponents to that low of a percentage so far is pretty wild.
Kennedy Burke is a Sixth Player of the Year candidate
We know what to expect from New York's starters. What we didn't know was how the bench would look with Betnijah Laney-Hamilton injured — which has meant Leonie Fiebich has had to start at the three — and Vandersloot plus Kayla Thornton now on different teams.
There were players who looked poised to step up, but none have stepped up as much as Kennedy Burke.
After bouncing around teams early in her career, Burke found a solid spot at the end of the New York bench last year. She didn't impress on the score sheet, but she played her role and earned another year with the team.
That trust has paid off. Through three games, Burke is shooting 64.7 percent from the floor, averaging a career-high 11.3 points per game.
New York has been incredible with Burke on the floor, posting a +23.61 net rating in her 67 minutes. In the 53 minutes with her on the bench, that drops to +6.6. Burke has helped steady the Liberty offense with her efficient shooting and defensive movement.
There should certainly be concerns about Burke's ability to keep this pace up, but right now she's serving a crucial role off the New York bench.