The New York Liberty came into the 2026 season with a roster that largely resembled the team that won the 2024 WNBA Championship. The Liberty has been playing most of their games without Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally so far this season (both have been out due to injuries), but there's been every reason to expect the team to live up to their won high expectations.
Except, so far, the Liberty have lost more games than they've won (their 3-4 record has the team ranked 11th in the league), and the struggle is impacting fan morale.
Ever the leader, Breanna Stewart managed to put a spin on the team's performance that might help out: at least it's happening now, and not later in the season. As Stewart told reporters after the team's loss to the Portland Fire Monday night, "Listen: I'm happy it's happening early, and not late. And I know we did a lot of wrong things tonight, but I thought our fight and effort was definitely better than it was last night, for sure."
Breanna Stewart's point should be noted
Stewart's point is a good one: we're almost to the end of May, and there are still months of basketball to be played. As many fans can recall pretty easily, the Las Vegas Aces struggled for the first half of the 2025 season and ended up winning it all — so any assumptions that the beginning of this season will dictate who things go for the Liberty this year are premature.
Stewart's words don't mean that the team is okay with losing, but what she said does acknowedge that sometimes you have to lose some before you can win some. The Liberty began the 2026 season as one of the teams to beat, and there's every reason to suspect they'll end the season that way, too.
It's also worth recalling that the Liberty won several games at the beginning of last season and then lost many more, so, truthfully: very little can be gleaned from how the team is performing now. The Liberty should hopefully be playing with Ionescu and Sabally, as well as Leonie Fiebich and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton sooner than later, a combination that will give the team the edge they need.
Last night's loss is the last time the Liberty will play the Fire during the regular season, which might be something they appreciate as they weave their way through this year.
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