Are the New York Liberty going to be the greatest WNBA team of all time?
Though they’re coming off four games in six days, the strength of schedule has been mushy. With all early signs pointing to a rematch in the 2025 Finals, the Liberty aren’t even sitting atop the WNBA standings; the Minnesota Lynx’s 8-0 record is a half-game better than New York’s 7-0 start.
But the Liberty are stuffing opponents in a trash can, not just winning: Their 25.1 net rating — about the distance from Earth to the Moon -- is double Minnesota’s still-impressive output.
Natasha Cloud has put it on cruise control as of late, taking just three 2-point shots in the last three victories, but her transition to the squad has been seamless. Against New York’s two strongest opponents, the Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever, Cloud played so well that she won Eastern Conference Player of the Week for those combined efforts, and deservedly so.
She’s a tenacious on-ball defender...
...and has often been allowed to hound opposing ball-handlers and fight through screens, rather than solely being asked to switch.
Cloud also plays with a clichéd veteran savviness on offense, understanding when a slip-cut is open, when a pop is open, or when to go set an off-ball screen. She’s been loving that lately...
Natasha Cloud only has three 2-point attempts in the last three games(?), but she's been trying to screen everybody she can. fun: pic.twitter.com/SCoe9C6yTa
— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) June 4, 2025
The only end-of-season award Cloud will pop up for is an All-Defense team, but even then, she’s going to be one of four Liberty starters with a case. Leonie Fiebich, still trying to seize a larger role on offense, is a total nightmare on the other end. She’s 6’4” with a plus-wingspan and can slide her feet; the German doesn’t have to work very hard to force misses around the court, and it allows her teammates to stay home on shooters.
Fiebich will soon depart to play in EuroBasket for her German national team, likely absent for around a fortnight. That’ll put a dent in her case for an All-Defense team, and perhaps place her next to Breanna Stewart on the totem pole.
Stewie has had more spacey moments than usual - a recurring theme for New York so far, understandable given they’re always up by 20 — but she still pulls possessions like this out...
What the hell, man.
A brief mention to Sabrina Ionescu here, who won’t contest for an All-Defense spot, but she has continued her career-best play on that end from the 2024 playoff run. Though off-ball brain farts still freckle her film, she has been an outright effective on-ball defender. How about this stat from Nekias Duncan’s latest power-rankings: “Opponents are generating 0.51 points per possession on trips featuring a pick-and-roll defended by Ionescu—that’s the best mark in the WNBA among 40 players to defend at least 50.”
That brings us to Jonquel Jones, the other defender on many of these pick-and-rolls and perhaps the coolest personality on a roster whose cup runneth over with engaging personalities and play-styles. As I’ve written many times before, Jones can do everything on the basketball court. At 6’6”, she’s a perennial threat to grab a defensive rebound and hit a home-run outlet pass, she’s shooting over 38% from deep since arriving in NYC over two years ago, and she blocks two shots a game.
But against the Indiana Fever, Sandy Brondello started to outright switch pick-and-rolls in crunch-time, and before Cloud’s stop on Caitlin Clark, it was Jones who stonewalled The Chosen One when it mattered most...
With the game in the balance, Jones
switches onto Clark, leading to a stop, then runs the floor and seals what has become a mismatch, leading to go-ahead freebies
rotates at the rim to get a stop and tip out the rebound, leading to a transition opportunity
switches onto Clark again and gets the stop
Though Stewie’s game-to-game motor likely gives her more consistent impact, there’s an easy argument to be made for Jones as New York’s best player since the 2023 All-Star break. Nearly two years now.
When the Libs play the best teams in the league, the Lynx and Aces, Jones’ ability to feasibly contain Napheesa Collier and A’ja Wilson 1-on-1 often saves the rest of the defense and allows Stewie to roam.
Through the first three weeks of this season, New York’s defensive rating of 87.7 is nearly seven points better than Minnesota, sitting at #2. But because it’s the Liberty, they’ve somehow been more impressive on the offensive end.
A 112.8 offensive rating currently ranks third in league history, behind the 2023 Las Vegas Aces and the legendary 2019 Washington Mystics.
The numbers are as staggering as the feeling of seeing them rattle off five straight 3-pointers as Barclays Center grows increasingly rabid. Sandy Brondello’s squad is assisting on 78% of their made baskets, including the first 19 of their 100-52 demolition of the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
They are so deadly in transition it becomes predictable, not just off turnovers but bad shots too. With the proper amount of respect for Tina Charles, the Liberty got an open look as soon as she threw this one up...
Though the Liberty attack the 3-point with glee in transition, Ionescu in particular has been bombing away on the fast-break.
She’s shooting over 42% on catch-and-shoot threes in the early going, per WNBA.com, and all hell breaks loose when New York gets a head of steam up the court. Defenders freak out trying to locate her, and occasionally that opens up rim-runs for opponents, but more often than not, their freak-outs aren’t enough to stop Ionescu...
Both Leonie Fiebich and Breanna Stewart have said that the much-discussed, 5-out heavy offense the Liberty are running in 2025 “isn’t that different” than last year’s.
That assessment seems correct, to me. Jonquel Jones is still frequently used to beat smaller opponents over the head when they switch guards onto her. The funniest possession of the season so far is right here, when a scrambling Caitlin Clark runs away from Stewie only to fall into JJ’s lap...
finally watching this game, very funny possession
Caitlin Clark scram-switches off of Stewie...only to end up on Jonquel. tough.
Liberty recognize it right away: pic.twitter.com/56khFykZ9a
— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) May 29, 2025
But so far, switching is really the only shot defenses have against NYL. Trying to play aggressive coverages against the Liberty, allowing them to play 4-on-3, or drop coverage, allowing their bigs to pick-and-pop, is just a total death sentence.
At least by switching, New York occasionally spins its wheels trying to isolate Stewie in the middle of the floor, or fails to through Jones catchable entry passes. Those two can dominate most matchups, but iso-ball slows down what makes this offense so breath-taking.
Hell, even a full unit of reserves is capable of turning in a starter-quality possession by stringing out an advantage...
The passing, cutting, and shot-making on this team is too good to forfeit an inch. Just a simple, well-timed slip from Isabelle Harrison here breaks Connecticut.
After being the league’s best offense in 2024, New York has (in a small sample) lowered their turnover-rate while increasing their free-throw rate, assist-rate, and 3-point rate. Through seven victories, 49.6% of their shots have been from beyond the arc, and in a euphoric break from NBA discourse, nobody could complain their offense isn’t fun to watch.
Positives are in every corner, from ownership recently seeing a $450 million valuation of the franchise down to the role players. In nearly every game recap, Rebekah Gardner has earned a shoutout, looking as spry as a 34-year-old guard coming off an achilles tear could. Marine Johannès numbers don’t wow, but she seems comfortable in her bench role, and has decided to remain with the team through EuroBasket.
So, are there any worries?
Alright, some quick worries — or at least, things to keep an eye on — to close.
Breanna Stewart might never make a three again. Not literally, but since the start of her spooky 2023 playoff run, she’s shooting 27.4% from three, and many of her misses to start the season haven’t been close.
Teams have started to help generously off of Natasha Cloud as well, who’s long hovered around 30% from three. She’s not the most willing shooter, though at 38% to start the season, it hasn’t been a problem. Still, there is a possibility that two starters in the Liberty’s 5-out death machine just aren’t fearsome floor-spacers come October.
Nyara Sabally, with her extensive history of knee injuries, has now missed five straight games with right knee soreness. Head Coach Brondello expressed optimism at the start of this stretch that she’d be back quickly...that hasn’t been the case. Hopefully, it’s just New York (and Nyara) being extra cautious before she joins Fiebich at EuroBasket.
Per WNBA tracking, Sabrina Ionescu is down to 26.1% on off-the-dribble 3-point attempts to start the season. Aside from her incendiary 2023, this is right in line with career averages, and defenses are starting to adjust by playing softer coverages. At what point does she have to reduce how many she takes?
What annoys Sandy Brondello most is the lack of rebounding. New York is 13th in ORB%, 12th in DRB%, but somehow ninth in overall rebounding percentage? Need ProfessorB to explain that one, but in any case, it hasn’t been good. I don’t have a great explanation other than they’re often up by 20, coasting and missing easy boxouts.
Again, every number should be greeted with a half-grain of salt. Two games against a (feisty) expansion team twice, one against the Chicago Sky, and one against the Connecticut Sun accounts for over half their schedule so far.
But the New York Liberty are on their way to becoming one of the very greatest pro basketball teams of all time, looking to win their second WNBA title in as many years. Not only are they great, but they are fun and endlessly interesting, stacked with Hall of Famers and intensely memorable role players, from Johannès to Fiebich to Cloud.
Exuding tremendous joy, intensity, and unselfishness, playing in front of one of the great home crowds in recent sports history, the New York Liberty are one hell of an experience.
Their next game is against the Washington Mystics, on the road. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday night.