Latest news with #NyaraSabally
USA Today
15-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
3 way-too-early reasons why the New York Liberty won't repeat as WNBA champions
3 way-too-early reasons why the New York Liberty won't repeat as WNBA champions Will the New York Liberty repeat as WNBA champions? That's one of the biggest storylines of the 2025 season as it begins this week. The Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx last year in a thrilling five-game series to capture the franchise's first title. Though winning was a collective effort, star Sabrina Ionescu had a defining moment that changed the series. Also, finals MVP Jonquel Jones and her consistency were key to the team's success, along with unsung hero Nyara Sabally. MORE WNBA: 2025 WNBA betting: Odds, picks for win totals, playoffs, awards, more While New York's championship roster is largely untouched, the Liberty experienced an offseason of change, including trading for guard Natasha Cloud. So, inevitably, the questions will start. Will the Liberty run it back? Do they have enough talent and depth to overcome the field? Here are three reasons why the Liberty won't repeat as WNBA champions. Reasons why Liberty won't win the 2025 WNBA championship 1. The Liberty can't replace the production of Betnijah Laney Hamilton Liberty forward Betjinah Laney-Hamilton won't play this year. Laney-Hamilton suffered an offseason knee injury (left meniscus) while playing in Unrivaled. Despite missing 12 games in 2024 with right knee issues, the Liberty veteran was a trusted source of offensive production, often hitting timely buckets while averaging 11.8 points and 4.2 rebounds throughout the season. What's more, Laney-Hamilton is arguably one of the most underrated defenders at her position in the WNBA. She can be a lockdown defender while withstanding the physicality that teams often throw at her, which makes her game so special and hard to replicate. Anyone who they throw into her role (standout Leonie Feibich, or otherwise) might struggle to create impact on both sides of the ball like Laney-Hamilton does. 2. EuroBasket absences will impact the Liberty's mid-season progress In June, FIBA will hold the Women's EuroBasket tournament. It's expected to run from June 18 to June 29 and feature Europe's top basketball teams. The tournament will also feature many WNBA athletes, including three players from the Liberty. Leonie Fiebich, Marine Johannès and Nyara Sabally will all be away from the team. At a minimum, they will miss around six games during that stretch and possibly more, given travel time and needed practices with their home countries. While New York isn't the only team impacted across the league and could certainly withstand those absences, being without them could prove costly if the Liberty can't come out above .500 during that stretch. 3. Repeating as WNBA champions is hard to do As cliché as it sounds, winning a championship, let alone two back-to-back, is hard to do. In the history of the WNBA, there have only been three teams to win consecutive championships. The Houston Comets won four titles, earning rings from 1997 to 2000, and the Los Angeles Sparks won back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002. Then, it took 21 years to get a repeat champion before the Las Vegas Aces did it in 2022 and 2023. The field will adjust in 2025. Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx will likely still be bitter about losing to New York the way they did. (Remember their meltdowns on defense and that questionable Game 5 Breanna Stewart foul?) Additionally, the Las Vegas Aces probably haven't forgotten about New York eliminating them from the playoffs and trolling the team on the way out. There are also teams like the Indiana Fever, Phoenix Mercury (and more) who made huge offseason acquisitions to contend with the Liberty. The target on their back has grown, and so have the expectations.
Associated Press
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Oregon gets a taste of a WNBA future via preseason Liberty game
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — There was no shortage of 'WNBA Portland' T-shirts among the fans at the New York Liberty's preseason game at the University of Oregon. The sellout crowd, which welcomed former Ducks Sabrina Ionescu and Nyara Sabally back to Eugene for a WNBA exhibition against the Toyota Antelopes, exemplified the popularity in Oregon of women's basketball, and of women's sports in general. And that's a harbinger of what could come when Portland's expansion team joins the WNBA next year. 'Hell yeah, I'm excited,' said basketball fan Lynn Manuel, who was at Monday's game. Portland was awarded an expansion team last September. RAJ Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, own and operate the team. They paid $125 million for the franchise. 'I'm so excited. Understanding the fan base that is built here in Eugene, but in Oregon as a whole, and knowing they're going to come out and support,' Ionescu said. 'And knowing us being from here, and knowing that fans are going to travel, and there's a lot of Ducks fans in Portland, so super excited to see how they support that team there, but also support us every time we come to play.' Ionescu drew big crowds in Eugene during her playing days for the Ducks. She set the NCAA record, among women and men, for triple-doubles. A highlight of her four-year career came when the U.S. team played Oregon in November 2019 and the Ducks won, 93-86. Ionescu had 30 points. After going to the Final Four in 2019 when she was a junior, Oregon won the 2020 Pac-12 championship and was headed back to the NCAA Tournament when the event was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ducks are not alone in cultivating an enthusiastic fan base. The Oregon State women have had success in recent years, at times outdrawing the men. Under coach Scott Rueck, the Beavers reached the Final Four in 2016 and have been to the Elite Eight twice since then. And Portland has certainly embraced women's sports. The Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League routinely draw upwards of 17,000 fans to games. The city is also home to the nation's first bar exclusively for women's sports, the Sports Bra, which opened in 2022. Portland is the third expansion franchise the WNBA has announced in recent years. The Golden State Valkyries will begin play in the San Francisco Bay Area this season and Toronto will join Portland in 2026. 'I think it's great. We've got Golden State this year and we're excited to go there, but also the Toronto Tempo and the Portland team,' said Liberty coach Sandy Brondello. 'I played when there was a Portland team here, the Portland Fire, and I loved coming to Portland.' The Fire played in Portland from 2000 until 2002 and averaged more than 8,000 fans before folding. ___ AP WNBA:
Washington Post
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu plays at Oregon for the first time as a pro in preseason game
EUGENE, Ore. — Playing at Oregon's Matthew Knight Arena for the first time in five years, New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu drew a roar from the capacity crowd by proclaiming, 'Go Ducks!' Ionescu, a three-time WNBA All-Star, made the return trip to Eugene along with Liberty teammate and fellow former Oregon standout Nyara Sabally for a preseason game against the Toyota Antelopes of Japan.
Associated Press
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu plays at Oregon for the first time as a pro in preseason game
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Playing at Oregon's Matthew Knight Arena for the first time in five years, New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu drew a roar from the capacity crowd by proclaiming, 'Go Ducks!' Ionescu, a three-time WNBA All-Star, made the return trip to Eugene along with Liberty teammate and fellow former Oregon standout Nyara Sabally for a preseason game against the Toyota Antelopes of Japan. It was the fourth time this preseason the WNBA has reunited college fans with their former stars. Caitlin Clark returned to Iowa, Angel Reese went back to LSU and a trio of former Notre Dame stars visited South Bend, Indiana. Ionescu scored 25 points in the 84-61 victory over the Antelopes. Sabally had 7. The crowd gave Ionescu a standing ovation after she hit a 3-pointer from the midcourt logo with 6:03 left. She waved to the crowd and put her hand on her heart before going to the bench. 'It's great to be back home,' Ionescu told the crowd before the game. Ionescu was a senior in 2020 for then-No. 2 Oregon when the season ended prematurely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Oregon defeated No. 7 Stanford in the Pac-12 Tournament championship that year and the Ducks were expected to be among the top-seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Sabally was a redshirt freshman on that team. Ionescu ended her college career as the NCAA's all-time triple-doubles leader, among both men and women, with 26. She was drafted No. 1 by the Liberty in the 2020 WNBA draft. Eugene Mayor Kaarin Knudson declared Monday 'Sabrina Ionescu Day' in honor of Ionescu, who won a WNBA title with the Liberty last year as well as a gold medal at the Paris Olympics. 'I'm glad they're getting their love,' teammate Natasha Cloud said of Ionescu and Sabally. 'They deserve it. Both of them have grown so much from being here, and obviously being able to win the (WNBA) championship last year, to come back here and celebrate with the fans.' The Liberty announced earlier Monday it exercised Sabally's fourth-year option, which will keep her with the team through the 2026 season. Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai and Oregon coach Kelly Graves were among those at the game. 'It is a really cool idea. The preseason has been going to a lot of the college campuses of their star players and Sabrina is a franchise player for us and has done wonderful things,' Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. 'So it's great to come back where it all started.' The WNBA returns to Oregon next year, when an as-yet unnamed expansion team kicks off in Portland. ___ AP WNBA:
New York Post
30-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Healthy Nyara Sabally out to finally fulfill potential as vital piece of Liberty title defense
Liberty forward Nyara Sabally spent the end of the first two days of training camp standing on the sidelines of the Barclays Center practice court, where the assistant coaches hovered as her teammates ran defensive and offensive sets. On Tuesday, the restrictions that kept Sabally out of those final stretches of practice were lifted. She was free to participate fully. Advertisement Sabally's limitations early in training camp had less to do with her injury past and more about allowing the 6-foot-5 center time to recover from her season in Turkey. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said those days off were a chance for Sabally to 'reset and refresh' ahead of the team's 44-game season. 'She's in shape, she's just come off the season, so that's not a problem,' Brondello said. 'It's great to have her in training camp because we're always limiting her and she … was injured in the past, so she feels good and excited to have her and continue to build her because we think the sky's the limit for her.' Advertisement 3 The Liberty's Nyara Sabally defends against the Dream's Tina Charles during the 2024 WNBA playoffs at Barclays Center. Michelle Farsi/New York Post Injuries have derailed her potential for greatness too many times before, and the Liberty's best shot at repeating as champions is with Sabally in the rotation. Sabally, the No. 5 pick in the 2022 draft out of Oregon, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee twice while in college and missed her rookie WNBA season after undergoing another knee surgery. Sabally was sidelined for a month last season because of a back injury, which again stifled her development. Advertisement But Sabally persevered through yet another round of adversity. She was better last season than she was in 2023, as she set career highs in points (4.9 per game), rebounds (4.0), steals (0.7), blocked shots (0.4) and field goal percentage (57.5%). 3 Nyara Sabally celebrates after the the Liberty's WNBA Finals-clinching win over the Lynx in Game 5 at Barclays Center. Michelle Farsi/New York Post Sabally's brightest moment last season was Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, when she erupted for nine points in the third quarter before finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds in the title-clinching overtime win. Sabally returned to the Liberty this season eager to channel that version of herself on a more consistent basis. She's focused on her on-ball and off-ball screens this offseason as well as her efficiency at finishing around the basket. Advertisement 'Just keep going, keep doing the same thing I've been doing,' Sabally said. 'And just kind of keep building days, keep believing in myself because I mean everybody on the team does.' 3 Nyara Sabally celebrates after making a shot against the Dream during the 2024 WNBA playoffs Michelle Farsi/New York Post Sabally has prioritized taking care of her body more as a professional. She's incorporated more weight training to build up her strength, especially in her lower body. 'My body feels good,' Sabally said. 'I feel healthy and it's just kind of managing your body and your load.' That's good news for the Liberty. 'We just want her to keep doing what she has been doing for us, but where she can [when] there's no restrictions on how much she can play,' Brondello said. 'That's hard for any kind of player. So just stay healthy for her because you'll see what we want to do on the court and how she adds to us with her screening, her running, her rebounding, her defense. … She's so great at screen and speed rolling that it creates openings not just for herself but for others.'
