The New York Liberty have signalled their intent to lift a second WNBA championship in three years by assembling one of the league’s most formidable rosters. However, injuries to Sabrina Ionescu (left foot), Rebecca Allen (left leg), and Satou Sabally (cyst), combined with Raquel Carrera and Leonie Fiebich remaining overseas to complete their European campaigns, will test the Liberty’s depth early in the season.
While most teams will be focused on building chemistry, the 2024 champions will be scrambling to piece together an effective lineup. Fortunately, the Liberty still has the brilliant Breanna Stewart and dominant Jonquel Jones at its disposal. Nevertheless, to win a championship, a team must build momentum -- even during the early stages of a campaign.
Although the core of this New York roster has played together before and had the opportunity to build cohesion, they have a new head coach in situ. Chris DeMarco will likely have an entirely different playbook and picture the game differently than his predecessor, Sandy Brondello. The sooner these stars return to the floor, the better. Still, the early adversity presents an opportunity for DeMarco to evaluate the depth of his roster and determine which players he can rely on when it matters most.
Rotational players can prove they deserve bigger minutes
If the likes of Ionescu, Sabally, and Allen are available, less prominent players in the squad are unlikely to see much action on the floor. This presents them with an opportunity to stake a claim for a bigger role in the rotation than Chris DeMarco had envisaged.
With Sabrina Ionescu out of action, the rookie Pauline Astier will hope to be handed a starting role and have the chance to build upon her impressive preseason debut. During New York's 76-67 triumph over a youthful Connecticut Sun roster, Astier turned in an electric performance, recording 12 points and four assists, while shooting 80% from the floor.
Astier will not be the only player intending to prove their worth to Chris DeMarco. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton established herself as an important cog in Brondello's system in 2025, averaging 11.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. The 32-year-old's versatility will provide the head coach with cover over multiple positions, quelling the painful headache that will be left in the absence of Ionescu, Sabally, and Allen.
Having depth in a championship squad is important, and a franchise would rather have that tested during the early stages of the campaign, rather than the build-up to the postseason. However, the New York Liberty's situation differs from most.
The organization has hedged its bets in favour of a four-player superteam -- Sabrina Ionescu, Satou Sabally, Breanna Stewart, and Jonquel Jones. With two of those players sidelined for an indefinite period, the Liberty are unable to develop the instinctive chemistry that turns a collection of elite talent into a championship-winning juggernaut. The additional absences also complicate the process of establishing effective rotations and identifying which players can best exploit specific matchups.
Undoubtedly, Chris DeMarco has won the lottery by being handed a job where he has a litany of two-way superstars at his disposal; however, he is already having his coaching acumen tested. The long-term effects of these injuries could be catastrophic. Could we already be witnessing the undoing of the New York Liberty before the season has even begun?
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