New York Liberty veteran Layshia Clarendon announced this week that she and her wife Jessica (nee Dolan) welcomed their first child on Christmas Day.
“You were a hope, a dream, a conversation, and a long 41 week [sic] wait and now you are here. How could Christmas get any sweeter than this?” Clarendon said in their Instagram post commemorating the arrival. “2020 was a year full of grief, fear, and deep wounds. The journey to this moment has been a salve for our souls every step of the way. Don’t hesitate to embrace and celebrate your joy. We all deserve it, in times like these, and always. #BabyC #CallMeBigPoppa.”
Clarendon, 29, has been married to Dolan, a senior manager at the Wasserman agency and fellow Cal-Berkeley alumna, since 2017. The 2017 WNBA All-Star has been one of the more active voices in the WNBA’s social justice endeavors. She joined the Liberty last season on a two-year deal, serving as one of the few veterans and the most experienced representative on a New York squad stacked with rookies. In addition to their on-court duties, Clarendon also serves on the WNBA’s Social Justice Council, which also includes Liberty CEO Keia Clarke.
Over eight WNBA seasons, Clarendon has averaged 7.3 points and 3.0 assists in a career that has also visited Indiana, Atlanta, and Connecticut. She put up a career-best 11.5 points per game in last season’s bubble-based endeavor in Bradenton, with her season-best tally of 20 coming in the Liberty’s opener against Seattle in July.
While the plans for the 2021 WNBA season have not been revealed, the Liberty will choose first in the upcoming draft this spring. It will mark the second consecutive season in which they will choose first.
For the second straight year, the New York Liberty will choose first in the WNBA’s draft proceedings, set to be held next spring.
The New York Liberty hit the jackpot at the WNBA Draft Lottery for the second consecutive season, earning the top overall pick for a selection process set to be staged next spring.
New York cashed in on their top odds (44.2 percent), coming out on top of the four-team sweepstakes amongst the non-playoff participants. The Dallas Wings will choose second, while the Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever round out the top quartet. Last season, the Liberty chose Oregon recordbreaker Sabrina Ionescu with the topic pick. She was limited to three games due to an ankle injury, but managed to briefly impress, scoring 33 points in her second career game.
The lottery was held during halftime of the nationally televised matchup between No. 5 Louisville and No. 20 DePaul. Louisville, which has three representatives on the Liberty roster (Asia Durr, Jazmine Jones, and Kylee Shook), took control in a 116-75 victory in a game held at Mohegan Sun Arena.
General manager Jonathan Kolb represented the team for the second straight season. Upon earning the top overall pick, Kolb said the first thing he envisioned was “Sabrina jumping up and down on her healed ankle”.
“I was trying to contain my own excitement,” Kolb said with a smile in a Zoom press conference call after the reveal. “I was mostly happy for the fans, the fans that have been ride or die with this team since 1997 deserve this. They deserved it last year. I think if you really look at the trajectory of this franchise, where it’s going from an ownership, front office, coaching standpoint, now player acquisition standpoint. This is exciting, it’s an exciting time to be a fan.”
Inside the WNBA’s Bradenton bubble, the Liberty finished a league-worst 2-20 sans Ionescu for a majority of the year, but enjoyed contributions from several rookies. Jazmine Jones, the final pick of last season’s first round, was named to the league’s All-Rookie team while filling in for Ionescu at point guard. Seven rookies partook in at least one game for the Liberty, a situation brought upon by several regular players (including Rebecca Allen, Marine Johannes, Han Xu, and 2019 second overall pick Asia Durr) opt-out of the proceedings. Several players have moved on overseas, where they’re competing in foreign leagues.
Kolb remained in a celebratory mood, but he expressed hope that draft lottery night would not be the only be the only time that the Liberty would be in the headlines far more often.
“We have an exciting opportunity for a hybrid rebuild…we can be super competitive while bringing the Liberty down the road for the future,” Kolb said. “In free agency, we’re going to be really aggressive…I don’t think tonight is the only night we’re going to be in the news over the next few months.”
The date for the 2021 draft has yet to be determined.
An original star of the New York Liberty is set to take her second head coaching job after spending the past 15 years with the Aces franchise.
Per Chantel Jennings of The Athletic, New York Liberty legend Vickie Johnson is set to become the new head coach of the Dallas Wings. Johnson, 48, would be the 11th head coach of a franchise that began life as the Detroit Shock in 1998.
The Coushatta, Louisiana native has spent the past 15 years in some capacity with the Las Vegas Aces franchise, which was previously known as the San Antonio Silver Stars (later simply known as the Stars). She spent the final four seasons (2006-09) of her WNBA career with the team before serving as an assistant coach under Sandy Brondello (2010) and Dan Hughes (2011-16). Johnson would later oversee the final season in San Antonio (2017), going 8-28 before the team moved to Las Vegas. She was retained over the last three seasons on Bill Laimbeer’s staff, working alongside another Liberty alumna, Tanisha Wright, in the last.
Johnson began her WNBA career as an original member of the Liberty, drafted by the team in the “elite” portion (reserved for players who had previously played internationally) of the inaugural draft in 1997. Working with fellow former Louisiana Tech Lady Techster Teresa Weatherspoon and several others, Johnson helped the Liberty reach four of the first six WNBA Finals (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002). The team earned a franchise-best 21 wins in 2001, a record that stood until 2015. Johnson reached two All-Star Games as a member of the Liberty (1999, 2001). Upon her departure in 2005, she was the Liberty’s all-time leading scorer with 3,246 points, which was broken by Tina Charles in 2019. Johnson remains the Liberty’s all-time leader in games played (282) and is one of five players in the team’s Ring of Honor (joining teammates Weatherspoon, Becky Hammon, Kym Hampton, Rebecca Lobo, and Sue Wicks).
In joining Dallas, Johnson inherits the only team in the WNBA that’s younger than the Liberty in terms of age. No one on the team has more than four years’ experience in the WNBA, the roster headlined by 2020 first-rounders Satou Sabally, Bella Alarie, and Tyasha Harris. Sabally was the second overall pick in last April’s draft, chosen immediately after the Liberty took her Oregon teammate Sabrina Ionescu at No. 1. Also present is Arike Ogunbowale, the 2019 Rookie of the Year. Johnson takes over for Brian Agler, who went 18-38 in two seasons at the helm. Johnson will also be the first Black female to service in a head coaching capacity since Pokey Chatman in Indiana (2016-19).
The Liberty and Wings will each partake in the 2020 WNBA Draft Lottery on Friday night, set to be held during halftime of the college basketball game between Louisville and DePaul (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). New York will own the best odds in the lottery with a 44.2 percent chance of gaining the top overall pick. General manager Jonathan Kolb is expected to represent the team.
The New York Liberty will have the top odds in the 2021 WNBA Draft Lottery, which will be held on Friday night.
‘Twas three weeks before Christmas, but the New York Liberty could gain a special early gift later this week.
The WNBA has announced that the 2021 Draft Lottery will be staged on Friday night during halftime of the anticipated college basketball matchup between No. 20 DePaul and No. 5 Louisville. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, which will carry lottery proceedings for the ninth consecutive season. LaChina Robinson will host the reveal, which will be overseen by WNBA Head of League Operations Bethany Donaphin.
New York will have the best odds entering Friday’s drawing, which takes into account cumulative records over the past two seasons for the four non-playoff teams. Weighed down in a rebuilding effort, the Liberty went 12-44 over the past two showings, including a 2-20 mark in the WNBA’s abbreviated bubble season in Bradenton, Florida.
This gives them a 44.2 percent chance of securing the top overall pick for the second straight season. Last time around, the Liberty leaped from the second-best odds to essentially “win” the Draft Lottery for the first time in team history. New York used that selection to take college basketball sensation Sabrina Ionescu out of Oregon in the most recent selections last April. Ionescu partook in three games in the Bradenton bubble before an ankle injury prematurely ended her debut season.
Behind the Liberty, the Atlanta Dream (15-41) have the second-best odds at 27.6 percent, followed by the Dallas Wings (18-38, 17.8) and Indiana Fever (19-37, 10.4). The remaining picks in the first round, consisting of 2020 playoff teams, have already been sorted through the inversion of regular season records, which will likewise determine the full order for the second and third rounds as well.
Staging the Draft Lottery during a Louisville basketball holds a sense of irony for the Liberty. Three former Cardinals currently reside on the Liberty roster, including 2019’s second overall pick Asia Durr. While Durr opted out of the bubble endeavor, the team was nonetheless represented through Jazmine Jones and Kylee Shook, who were respectively taken with 12th and 13th picks during last spring’s draft. Jones was later named to the WNBA’s All-Rookie team, becoming the first New Yorker to do so since Brittany Boyd and current teammate Kiah Stokes earned the honor in 2015. Modern Louisville senior Dana Evans (18.0 points, 4.2 assists per game in 2019-20) is expected to be a first-round choice next spring.
Other big name prospects at the top of the 2021 draft board will include Rennia Davis (Tennessee), Destiny Slocum (Oregon State), and Didi Richards (Baylor). Texas junior Charli Collier has been pegged as a potential early entrant.
New York Liberty legend Teresa Weatherspoon will serve as a full-time assistant coach under Stan Van Gundy.
Teresa Weatherspoon and a Van Gundy indirectly united to create hardwood magic at the turn of the century in the Big Apple. That magic is on its way to the Big Easy.
The New Orleans Pelicans announced a series of adjustments to their coaching staff on Monday, headlined by the promotion of Weatherspoon, who will take a full-time assistant coach position with the NBA franchise. She will work under newly-minted head coach Stan Van Gundy, the brother of former New York Knicks boss Jeff, whose New York tenure (1996-2001) overlapped with Weatherspoon’s glory days.
Weatherspoon, 54, joined the team last season as a player development coach and spent her time between the Pelicans and the Erie BayHawks, their G League affiliate. Now, Weatherspoon becomes the eighth woman to serve on an NBA bench, joining fellow Liberty legend and longtime San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon.
Weatherspoon partook in the first seven seasons of Liberty basketball (1997-2003), appearing in five WNBA All-Star Games and three WNBA Finals. She is perhaps best known for launching the most famous shot in WNBA history, a desperation three-pointer from beyond half-court that allowed the Liberty to steal a Finals win from the Houston Comets in the 1999 championship series. Weatherspoon also earned the first two WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards and currently ranks 12th all-time in assists (1,338) and 21st in steals (465). Induction into the Naismith Memorial Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame awaited Weatherspoon last season. She has since been named to the WNBA’s anniversary teams in 2011 and 2016.
Weatherspoon retired after a single season in Los Angeles in 2004. Since then, she has been involved in several coaching positions, including a variety of front office and player development roles with the Liberty in the six seasons before receiving the call from New Orleans. She also served as the head coach at her alma mater of Louisiana Tech for five-plus seasons (2009-14), taking them to a pair of NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournaments (2010, 2011).
Another New Orleans hire with a local connection is Beno Udrih, The two-time NBA champion and former first-round pick spent part of last year’s shortened G League campaign with the Knicks’ affiliate in Westchester as an assistant, his first coaching position.
Darsch led the New York Liberty in their first two seasons and partook in the inaugural WNBA Championship in 1997.
Former New York Liberty head coach Nancy Darsch passed away on Monday at the age of 68. Darsch was the original coach of the franchise upon its inception in 1997, sitting at the helm for two seasons. She was said to be battling Parkinson’s disease.
“The New York Liberty join the basketball community in mourning the loss of the franchise’s first-ever head coach, Nancy Darsch,” the Liberty wrote in a team statement. “Coach Darsch led the Liberty for two years, including the WNBA’s inaugural season in 1997. We are grateful for Nancy’s leadership as a pioneer of this game. Her contributions to the advancement of both collegiate and professional women’s basketball, and her passion for the game will forever be felt.”
Darsch and the Liberty earned the first win in WNBA history in June 1997, as they topped the Los Angeles Sparks 67-57. The Liberty finished 17-11 in that opening season and partook in the inaugural WNBA Championship, then a one-game playoff, against Houston at the end of the year. They were able to improve their tally to 18-12 the following season, but lost out on a return trip to the playoffs through a tiebreaker. Darsch then became the head coach of the Washington Mystics, lasting two seasons in the nation’s capital before the rest of her WNBA career featured assistant coaching stints in Minnesota and Seattle. In the latter stop, Darsch was on the bench for the Storm’s second WNBA Finals victory in 2010.
Prior to her New York endeavors, Darsch was best known for her time as the head coach of Ohio State’s women’s basketball program (1985-98). Under her rule, the Buckeyes reached the NCAA Tournament in each of her first five seasons at the helm and appeared in the national title game in 1993. Darsch previously as an assistant under Pat Summit at the University of Tennessee and later briefly returned to the college bench at Boston College (2006-07). She also played an active role in international hardwood affairs with Team USA, earning a pair of Olympic gold medals as an assistant coach (1984, 1996).
Tributes have poured in for Darsch across the basketball world on social media.
“I was always listening Coach Darsch!” former Liberty star Teresa Weatherspoon wrote on Instagram. Thank you for everything you’ve done in this game of basketball and for the impact you’ve had in so many lives, especially mine. Thank you for understanding my passion and allowing me to be me. NY LIBERTY FOR LIFE! WE LOVE YOU!!! Rest now Coach!!!”
Former Liberty head coach and Ohio State alumna Katie Smith left a multi-photo tribute, reminiscing on the pair’s successful endeavors in Columbus.
“You coached and were friends with the best, won at all levels but Nancy you were an even better person and friend,” Smith wrote. “Her smile, playful punch and just genuine caring spirit will be missed by many.”
As the NBA 2K franchise expands its WNBA content, virtual ratings for 16 members of the New York Liberty have been released.
The New York Liberty’s season in the WNBA’s Bradenton bubble has come to an end, but their virtual counterparts are getting ready to take the court.
2K Sports has unveiled the player rankings for the upcoming next-gen console release of NBA 2K21, the latest installment of its long-running pro basketball simulator. The game will feature WNBA squads for the second season and player ratings for each of the league’s dozen teams have been unveiled.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the rebuilding Liberty, who endured a 2-20 record in a year that featured seven rookies, have the lowest team rating amongst the WNBA’s 12 teams. However, New York might yet prove to be a popular choice amongst players, as touted rookie Sabrina Ionescu lead the way with an 81 overall rating. The record-breaking collegiate sensation Ionescu was the top overall pick of April’s WNBA Draft and partook in three games with the Liberty before sustaining a season-ending ankle injury. She was not on the inaugural edition of last year’s roster, though that didn’t stop players and streamers from adding her in later on.
Third-year woman and 2019 WNBA All-Star Kia Nurse comes in a 2nd place with an 81 rating. She joins Ionescu as one of five Liberty players ranked in 2K’s Top 100 WNBA players, joining Layshia Clarendon, Asia Durr, and Amanda Zahui B (all coming in a 79).
Players may also be attracted to the Liberty for their propensity to shoot the three-pointer. The New Yorkers attempted over 600 triples in actuality, and they’re blessed with six players with a three-point rating of at last 80. Rebecca Allen, one of several players who opted out of the 2020 campaign, leads the way at 86, followed closely by mid-season acquisition Paris Kea at 85. Allen, Megan Walker, and Jocelyn Willoughby have all been granted the label of “3-PT specialist” as well. In other positives, New York’s athleticism rating of 82 is tied for the best in 2K’s WNBA with the Los Angeles Sparks.
The Liberty’s full season ratings can be found here.
Working a WNBA license for the second straight season, the game has drastically expanded its work with the Assocation. Next-gen console releases will feature a customized player mode, as well as a franchise mode. NBA 2K21 will be released on November 10 for XBox Series X/S, with a release on the PlayStation 5 due two days later.
The New York Liberty’s top overall pick is expected to make a full recovery after losing her rookie season to a July injury.
Sabrina Ionescu returned to New York City this week for a minor ankle procedure. The New York Liberty rookie underwent what the team called a “minimally-invasive procedure removed calcified scar tissue that was irritating a tendon behind (her) ankle”, a process overseen by Dr. Martin O’Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Ionescu made her WNBA debut in the league’s Bradenton-based bubble over the summer, but her inaugural season was cut short by an ankle injury in her third game of the season.
According to Dr. O’Malley, Ionescu’s injured ligaments from her July incident have healed. Team doctors expect to clear her for physical activity soon.
“Sabrina had a minor ankle procedure to remove a loose bone chip that was irritating a tendon behind her ankle,” Dr. O’Malley in a team statement. “This chip that occurred during her sprain in July, did not involve the ankle joint cartilage surface and we expect a complete recovery.”
“With the long offseason, I am committed to returning in 2021 fully prepared to rejoin my team and jumpstart my WNBA career,” Ionescu added in the same statement. “My rehab has been going very well and I look forward to getting back on the court.”
Ionescu set several records and earned even more accolades during her time at the University of Oregon. The Liberty took her with the top overall pick of the 2020 draft in April and she was immediately inserted into the starting lineup. She made a big impact in her limited time on the court, notably earning 33 points in only her second career game. Ionescu has spent most of the offseason in her hometown of Walnut Creek, CA, but returned to New York for her procedure. When WNBA action resumes in home arenas, the Liberty are expected to play their first full-time season at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The Liberty will also partake in the upcoming WNBA Draft Lottery, which will be held on a date to-be-determined.
If the 2020 season was any indication, the New York Liberty might’ve found lasting franchise contributors at both the top and bottom of the first round of the most recent WNBA Draft.
Eleven picks after the highly publicized selection of Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu with the top overall pick, the Liberty closed things out by acquiring Jazmine Jones with the 12th and final choice of the opening proceedings. That pick was obtained in the historic trade that sent franchise face Tina Charles to Washington in a multi-team deal.
A rebuilding campaign for the Liberty inside the WNBA’s Bradenton bubble was pacified by the performance of Jones. The newly-minted 24-year-old, who celebrated her birthday on Thursday, wound up becoming one of the Liberty’s most consistent silver linings, appearing toward the top of almost every major rookie stat, including the freshman league-lead in steals (1.4 per game). Her efforts led to a nomination for the WNBA’s official All-Rookie team, the first New York representative since Brittany Boyd and teammate Kiah Stokes made it in 2015.
“Jazmine works extremely hard. She really wants this,” veteran forward Amanda Zahui B has said of Jones. “She really wants to be great. She goes hard at practice and she’s very vocal. She’s a great leader.”
“The main thing about Jaz is her energy,” head coach Walt Hopkins added. “When she brings her energy, no matter what, she brings us a lot. It’s defensive, it’s toughness, swagger. Jaz has been huge for us.”
In honor of Jones’ special day, ESM has four facts about the former Louisville Cardinal…
She’s a Criminal Justice Major
Jones’ off-the-court accolades as a Cardinal were just as illustrious as the ones she earned on the hardwood. In addition to countless courted conference honors, Jones was named to the ACC’s All-Academic team twice, including her senior campaign. She majored in criminal justice, and, upon choosing Louisville over Floridian rivals Florida State (the Tallahassee native was offered a Seminoles scholarship in eighth grade) and Miami, revealed to the Courier Journal’s Jonathan Lintner that she wanted to take up a different kind of defense through a job in the FBI.
2020 Was a Throwback to Her High School Days
Jones was the first player with the “SG” initials (shooting guard) attached to her name chosen in April’s draft. However, the early injury to the touted point guard Ionescu forced her into territory unchartered since her high school days at Florida A&M’s Developmental Research School.
When Ionescu was lost for what was eventually the year in just her third WNBA game, Jones was called upon to take her spot. She responded with six consecutive games in reach double-figures and some tenacious defense that got the attention of her veteran WNBA peers.
“She really wants to be great,” Zahui B said. “She goes hard in practice and she’s very vocal. She is a great leader, so for her stepping up and playing the one, which is not really her position.”
Jones wound up averaging 10.8 points per game, one of only four full-season rookies to do so.
No One Has Played More Games as Louisville Cardinal
Louisville has produced some strong players from its women’s basketball program. The Liberty have recently taken to painting their new Brooklyn borough maroon, as Jones is one of three former Cardinals chosen over the past two drafts. Asia Durr, the second overall pick from 2019, missed the bubble endeavor after testing positive for COVID-19, but Jones was joined by Kylee Shook, who chosen immediately after her as the first pick of the second round.
Jones joined an illustrious list of Cardinals chosen in the first round, joining Durr, Angel McCoughtry, and Shoni Schimmel. The ongoing health crisis cut things short, but Jones also became the program’s all-time leader in games played, passing Schimmel and Myisha Hines-Allen.
It’s Hard to Keep Up With the Joneses
It feels like Jones was destined to make some sort of difference in the athletic world from the very start, as sports runs through her blood. Her father Reginald is a former Florida A&M Rattler, while one of her sisters, Gigi Thomas, foreshadowed her success on the hardwood at both Appalachian State and Jacksonville. Her brother, Reginald Jr., earning 60 tackles over four seasons on the defensive line for Florida International’s Golden Panthers.
The New York Liberty’s touted rookie spoke about her brief, yet fruitful, experiences in the “Wubble” as well as her future.
So eager is Sabrina Ionescu to return to sports that she can’t let even a yoga class go by without a sense of competitiveness.
Ever since an ankle injury prematurely ended her earliest endeavors with the New York Liberty, Ionescu has spent her time between rehabilitation in New York and with her support system in her home state of California. In her cross-country travels, Ionescu has picked yoga and pilates at home and ventured to her first instructor-led class on Wednesday morning with her gym opening back up. Her goal in the practice is to “(become) more flexible” and to “be in tune with (her) body”.
But even then, Ionescu couldn’t help but bring her fiery sense of fight that has presented itself on courts in Eugene and Bradenton alike.
“There was someone next to me today that had his hand down on a plank, and I was like ‘no, he’s cheating, that doesn’t count, your hand’s got to be on your hip’,” Ionescu said with a smile in recalling her outdoor class. “On a plank, side-plank, hand’s got to be on the hip or up, you can’t have it on the ground.”
Ionescu feels the same way about her place in the WNBA jersey sales. She placed fourth in the rankings behind league legends Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, and Candace Parker, but Ionescu’s hoping to move three spots up, admitting “I’m a little bit competitive…even if it’s just jersey selling”.
Adding another talent or two to her already overcrowded scouting report should have Ionescu’s opponents on alert. WNBA opponents were spared an Ionescu takeover when she twisted her ankle during a July 31 contest against Atlanta. Wednesday marked her first time speaking with the media since that injury, as Ionescu recapped her abbreviated freshman campaign and looked toward the future.
Like many, Ionescu faced challenges in 2020, a year that saw her earn the highest highs and endure some emotionally tolling lows. Prior to entering the WNBA’s bubble in Florida, Ionescu added to her overflowing trophy case with Player of the Year honors from the Associated Press, Los Angeles Atheltic Club, and several others. The ongoing health crisis denied her a final attempt at March Madness glory but she was nonetheless named the top overall pick in April’s WNBA Draft. She the first of five rookies chosen by the Liberty that night.
The biggest lesson Ionescu learned from this year was to “cherish the moment that you have”.
“I don’t think I ever expected to miss so many games,” she said. “I think (it’s) really just think being present in the moment, being thankful for what you have, because it can be taken away from you at any moment, with my injury I definitely learned. Obviously, I’m going to continue to learn. It’s not going to be the last time I’m going to get hurt, but it’s about finding ways to continue to prepare and put myself in the best situation possible.”
Ionescu’s injury came in her third game, less than 48 hours after she put up 33 points in just her second career contest. She had 10 more in a dozen minutes against Atlanta but twisted her ankle at midcourt during the second quarter.
Asked about her thoughts in the aftermath, Ionescu wasn’t even worried about her ailment. She was worried about the outcome, one she was sure was going to tilt in the Liberty’s favor.
“It actually didn’t really hurt,” Ionescu recalled. “My face was completely straight. I don’t know if it was because I was in shock or because I knew I hurt it really bad and I didn’t want to show the other team I was hurt because I wanted to go back in. My first thought was how I could get this wrapped up and continue to play and finish the game because we would’ve won that game.”
“We were going on the run. I knew we would’ve won that game.”
The Liberty wound up falling in that contest as Ionescu’s season ended. She left the bubble soon after to start rehabbing, but her prescience lingered all season long.
Ionescu first endorsed the bubble setting’s dedication to social justice, which she labeled as “awesome to see”. While it was at times tough for her tune in to the exciting games the WNBA had to offer due to her injury…at which point Ionescu would turn to NBA games from Orlando…her focus remained on New York endeavors. The former Oregon Duck also had kind words for her New York teammates, marveling at happenings like Jazmine Jones’ nomination to the All-Rookie team and Kiah Stokes’ newfound propensity to shoot from deep. Ionescu also expressed anticipation in working with Asia Durr, the second overall pick from 2019 who sat out of the bubble proceedings about a bout with COVID-19.
But perhaps most intriguing was Ionescu’s revelation that served as a de facto fifth coach on the sidelines. Ionescu remained in constant with head coach Walt Hopkins, to the point she was texting Hopkins at halftime to relay what she saw from afar.
“There were a few times that I would actually text Walt at halftime of the game if I saw something,” Ionescu said. She jokingly took credit for the Liberty’s 101-99 victory over the Chicago Sky on August 25. “I was telling him some things that I saw and we ended up winning. I told him that I took that win from back home.”
Ionescu has otherwise been training in her home state of California, backed by a support system that includes her family and NBA stars old and new. Newly minted Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash is among them, as is Chris Paul. Each of them reached out to Ionescu after her injury, while she also credited Stephen Curry and Pau Gasol for inspiring words after her first game.
As for the future, Ionescu is confident she’ll be ready in time for the 2021 season, a year she hopes will be held in the confines of Barclays Center and the WNBA’s other home arenas. Contact drills have been put on hold due to the health crisis, though Ionescu is content to flourish in her new activities of yoga and pilates. Overseas basketball remains an option, with anywhere in Europe being her preferred destination.
But despite the Liberty’s 2-20 struggles this season, Ionescu can’t help but savor the potential and opportunities in New York. Ionescu is looking at 2021 as a de facto second rookie season, the threat of consequence-free basketball looming large over the WNBA.
Uncertainty does lie ahead for New York, as they enter what could be a chaotic free agency period and/or bid farewell to several young contributors as familiar faces like Durr start to work their way back. But, if 2020 proved anything, it’s that it’ll take a heck of a lot more than a mere injury to derail the confidence and demeanor of Ionescu.
“I kind of just took it and continued to go one foot in front of the other,” Ionescu said of her situation. “What’s next? What can I do to get better? I think this time that I’ve had, being at home, seeing my family more than I ever had, and obviously just starting this foundation of what I want to do with my career.”
“It’s really given me time to reflect. I’m really blessed to have played three games in the league just to see what it was like, how I need to train, how I need to prepare to play at that level. I can focus on that this offseason, which I’m really excited about.”
