The New York Liberty will get a massive boost to finish the season. Emma Meesseman reportedly committed to joining the reigning champions. Meesseman is a big-time star and one of the most accomplished European players in the game. Adding her to the roster vastly improves the Liberty’s chances of edging out the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury for the 2025 championship.
Meesseman already won a WNBA championship with the Washington Mystics in 2019. The Liberty could take a page out of her former team’s book and bring Meesseman off the bench.
Emma Meesseman found great success as the Mystics’ sixth player
In 2019, the Washington Mystics had a stacked roster, headlined by MVP Elena Delle Donne. When everyone was healthy, they started Natasha Cloud, Ariel Atkins, Kristi Toliver, LaToya Sanders, and Elena Delle Donne.
Meesseman came off the bench behind Delle Donne and Sanders. She only started six games in the regular season, but still averaged 23.6 minutes and was the team’s second-leading scorer. In the playoffs, she only got three starts. Nevertheless, Meesseman played almost 29 minutes per game and led the Mystics in scoring. She was named the Finals MVP.
That season proved that Meesseman doesn’t have to start in the WNBA to have a huge impact on her team.
New York already has an established starting lineup
The Liberty have one of the most dangerous starting lineups in the WNBA. Sabrina Ionescu, Natasha Cloud, Leonie Fiebich, Breanna Stewart, and Jonquel Jones provide the perfect mix of star power, defense, size, and shotmaking.
Meesseman has the talent to be a starter on one of the best teams in the WNBA, but messing with an established starting lineup that knows how to play together late in the season is risky. So, the Liberty might be best served by following Washington’s example and bringing Meesseman off the bench behind Stewart and Jones.
At the moment, the Liberty’s backup bigs are Nyara Sabally and Isabelle Harrison. While Sabally is a great young talent and Harrison has been a solid role player, Meesseman marks a big upgrade. Bringing her off the bench would ensure that there is little to no drop-off in production between the starting frontcourt and the bench unit.
At the same time, Meesseman should be able to slide into the starting lineup whenever Jonquel Jones needs to rest. The 2021 MVP suffered an ankle injury earlier this season and missed a bunch of games. While she is set to make her return against the Indiana Fever, it can’t hurt to have a player who can step up if she needs to miss more time. Considering how great Jones was in the finals last year, the Liberty don’t want to risk losing her late in the season.