Repeating as champions is no easy feat. There is a reason the Las Vegas Aces became the first team to repeat in over twenty years when they won their second title in 2023. Before that, the Los Angeles Sparks did it in 2002. And yet, winning a second championship is the ultimate goal for the New York Liberty this season.
With Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, and Jonquel Jones still on the roster, the Liberty’s chances of winning it all are solid. Star power is not everything, though, and the Liberty lost some key role players. Betnijah Lacey-Hamilton will miss the entire season with a knee injury, and Kayla Thornton was selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the expansion draft in December.
Losing two key rotational players makes repeating even more difficult, but the solution to that problem may already be on the Liberty’s roster. If Leonie Fiebich can replicate her playoff success, she could very well be the key to the Liberty securing another championship.
Leonie Fiebich was great in the playoffs last year
Despite being a rookie, Leonie Fiebich quickly emerged as a key player for the Liberty due to her 3-point shooting and defense. The fact that she was not a traditional rookie and had plenty of experience playing overseas made her transition to the WNBA a lot smoother than it is for a lot of rookies. Once the playoffs rolled around, she even replaced veteran Courtney Vandersloot in the Liberty’s starting lineup.
Fiebich often took on some of the tougher perimeter assignments and emerged as an impactful scorer. She logged double-digits seven times in the playoffs, including a 21-point performance to open the playoffs. She also put up 13 points, seven rebounds, one assist, and two steals in the Liberty’s Game 5 win over the Minnesota Lynx. She played over 39 minutes in that game, proving that she could be impactful in the most important game of the season.
Leonie Fiebich will be key to the Liberty overcoming Laney-Hamilton’s injury
Losing Betnijah Laney-Hamilton is one of the worst things that could have happened to the Liberty ahead of the 2025 season. Laney-Hamilton has had to deal with injuries before in her career, but whenever she was healthy, she was an impactful player for the Liberty since coming to New York in 2021.
Her ability to defend, space the floor, and step up as a scorer when needed made her the perfect player to put around Ionescu, Stewart, and Jones.
Until Leonie Fiebich burst onto the scene, Kayla Thornton was the closest thing to Laney-Hamilton on the Liberty’s roster. She is now in San Francisco, though, leaving Fiebich as the best option to step up for the Liberty.
She showed her potential in the playoffs last season, averaging 11.6 points on efficient shooting, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. This season, she will have to prove that she can provide that kind of production consistently, and last year wasn’t just a fluke. If Fiebich can do that, the Liberty’s chances of repeating are still great, even after losing Laney-Hamilton and Thornton.