2024-25 WNBA Offseason Guides: New York Liberty

Our team-by-team series on where every franchise stands heading into the offseason and 2025 finally reaches the new champions, the New York Liberty

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Previously published 2024-25 Offseason Guides:

Los Angeles Sparks
Dallas Wings
Chicago Sky
Washington Mystics
Atlanta Dream
Seattle Storm
Indiana Fever
Phoenix Mercury
Las Vegas Aces
Connecticut Sun
Minnesota Lynx

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New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) celebrates with New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones (35). Photo credit: Chris Poss

2024 record: 32-8, No. 1 seed, beat Atlanta 2-0 in the first round, beat Las Vegas 3-1 in the semifinals, beat Minnesota 3-2 in the WNBA Finals to win their first championship.

2025 draft picks: Thanks to swap rights gained in the four-team trade headlined by Marina Mabrey back in 2023 - where the Liberty gave up Michaela Onyenwere but also acquired the rights to Leonie Fiebich - New York have the No. 7 pick in the 2025 draft rather than the No. 12. They don't have a second-round pick after sending it to Chicago in the deal for Rebekah Gardner, but do still hold their own third-rounder.

Free agents: Breanna Stewart (unrestricted free agent), Courtney Vandersloot (unrestricted free agent), Kennedy Burke (unrestricted free agent), Ivana Dojkić (reserved), Jaylyn Sherrod (reserved).

Under contract for 2025: Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Kayla Thornton, Nyara Sabally, Marquesha Davis, Leonie Fiebich.

2024 performance: Finally. Even from the outside, as someone who only knows some long-suffering Liberty fans rather than actually being one, it's hard to avoid that feeling at the Liberty reaching the mountaintop. There were several years where they were close, a lot of years where they really weren't, and even plenty of moments on the final night where it looked like they were going to fall just short yet again. But they made it. A first championship in 28 seasons of trying, the culmination of a rebuild that included the nadir of a 2-20 season, but now it all feels worth it. Enjoy the celebrations, Liberty fans.

The Finals itself, while fantastically entertaining for the neutral, were honestly a pretty ugly victory. Both Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu shot very poorly and it rather felt like Jonquel Jones won Finals MVP because no one else had the stats to deserve it instead. But in some ways that was an illustration of the development and progress that the Liberty have made. They didn't have to light up the scoreboard and rely on their superstar talent producing offensively to come out on top. They'd become more of a unit and developed a chemistry that meant they had other ways to win, and ultimately that was enough. Now for a task that only the Las Vegas Aces have pulled off in the last 20 years: repeating as champs.

Offseason finances: The Liberty have seven players under contract for 2025 and even though this time they finished on a high, they're facing a lot of the same questions as last year. Once again Stewart is an unrestricted free agent, but once again it seems inevitable that she'll be cored. Assuming she then signs a one-year deal she'll be uncoreable the following year (barring rule changes in the next CBA) and become a true unrestricted free agent in 2026, but that's unavoidable. New York is home for her so they'd be fairly confident that she'd stick around anyway.

At present, the Liberty would have $586,293 in cap space to fill the last four or five roster spots beyond those seven under contract. Coring Stewart would immediately reduce that space by the supermax figure of $249,244, taking it down to $337,049 (they'd gain additional space if Stewart agrees to sign for a lower figure, as she did this year). Hypothetically fill two of those spots with their first-round pick and a player on the base minimum and they'd have over $195,000 left to throw at a free agent, even if Stewart simply signs her supermax core qualifying offer rather than accepting a lower figure.

Of course, that's before considering unrestricted free agents Courtney Vandersloot and Kennedy Burke, or players whose rights they control that may be back in the picture for 2025 like Marine Johannès, Rebekah Gardner and Han Xu. Or that somebody's going to be removed from the calculations by the Golden State Valkyries expansion draft. So these numbers are going to fluctuate. But it's a solid starting point that they have meaningful money to spend even after taking care of the core group from the playoff run that took them to the title.

Offseason priorities: I would expect Stewart to be cored again, whether to remove the very small chance that she would walk away for nothing or simply so that she can play a second year under a core contract and therefore never be cored again (under current rules). Then we get to the more interesting roster questions, which - just like 12 months ago - largely surround reloading the bench. The lineup change that Sandy Brondello made heading into the playoffs, benching veteran point guard Vandersloot in order to start Fiebich on the wing, further illustrated the transition they'd been making throughout the season. While Vandersloot was part of creating the Liberty 'superteam' that eventually led to their championship, she was no longer a major piece of the puzzle for them on the floor. If she returns next year, it'll likely be at a lower price and with the understanding that she's now a backup. She may look for a bigger role elsewhere, or even consider retirement.

Presumably they'll hope to start the same group next year that began all their playoff games, although as the Liberty have found in previous years, relying on international players showing up can be dangerous. Germany are co-hosts of EuroBasket Women 2025 and sole hosts of the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup, so they may want to make sure they have backup plans in place behind their German contingent. Length on the wing, whether in the starting lineup (Fiebich, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton) or off the bench (Kayla Thornton, Kennedy Burke) was a big part of their success this year, but due to free agency, expansion and overseas commitments, it's not a certainty they'll all be back. The trade for Gardner provides another player in a similar mold, but that relies on her making a full recovery from her Achilles injury. So we may see some fishing in the free agency pool for that type of player again.

The success of lineups without Vandersloot show that Ionescu doesn't need a point guard to start alongside her, but unless Sloot returns they'll need to find another primary ballhandler to at least be the backup. They might like it to be Jaylyn Sherrod, but relying on her to step up into that big of a role would be risky. Johannès isn't a point guard, even if she's back in the mix. Another post that Brondello's willing to use outside of garbage time would also be nice, especially considering Nyara Sabally's injury history. But as long as Stewart and Fiebich return, all we're really talking about here are fringe and depth moves. Coming off a title, it's nice that the biggest issue may well be filling out the end of the bench, rather than worrying about any key pieces.

As with Minnesota, the Liberty do have enough worthwhile players under contract (and hold the rights to several others) that they may well lose someone good in the expansion draft. Still in the afterglow of Game 5, the obvious players to protect appear to be the starters and Sabally, but that would leave options like Thornton, Johannès, Han and even Vandersloot (as their one UFA pick) available for Golden State. As we've seen in the past, New York can get creative with their moves, so we may see some negotiation with the Valkyries over some kind of deal. But whatever happens, there will be some kind of impact on the roster.

Future assets: The Liberty still have their own first- and third-round picks in 2026, but their second-rounder again went to Chicago in the Gardner trade. They also hold the rights to a host of players who weren't on the roster this year, including Johannès, Gardner (both reserved), Han (suspended-contract expired), Raquel Carrera, Marine Fauthoux and Kaitlyn Davis (all draft rights). They're only allowed to hold on to four of those rights into next year, but any of them (except maybe Davis) could help the roster if they're willing to commit and show up. This year’s Liberty squad already proved how useful international players can be when given a chance and the right circumstances to produce.

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