2022 New York Liberty season
26th season for the New York Liberty franchise of the WNBA
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The 2022 New York Liberty season was the 26th season for the New York Liberty franchise of the WNBA. The Liberty opened the regular season on May 7, 2022, versus the Connecticut Sun.[1]
| 2022 New York Liberty season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Sandy Brondello |
| Arena | Barclays Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 16–20 (.444) |
| Place | 4th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | 7th seed Lost in 1st Round to the Chicago Sky |
Ahead of the season, the Liberty parted ways with head coach Walt Hopkins on December 6, 2021, after two years with the team.[2] On January 7, 2022, the Liberty announced the hiring of new head coach Sandy Brondello[3]
On May 3, 2022, the Liberty announced that 1st Round draft pick Nyara Sabally had undergone a successful Osteochondral Autograft Transplantation and would miss the entire 2022 season.[4]
The Liberty won their first game of the season but their quick start did not last long. They went on a seven game losing streak after their opening day win to finish May 1–7. The Liberty were able to turn things around in June, finishing the month 7–4 and seeming to develop a pattern of winning two games and then losing one. That pattern occurred three times in the month. That streak did not last into July as the team went 3–7 in the month and had a six game losing streak. To finish an up-and-down season, they went 5–2 in August and secured the seventh seed in the 2022 WNBA Playoffs with a 16–20 overall record. Their sixteen regular season wins was the franchise's most since they won twenty two games in 2017.
As the seventh seed, the Liberty were matched up against the second seed Chicago Sky in the first round of the playoffs, with Chicago having home court advantage. That advantage did not last long as the Liberty won the opening game of the series 98–91. The Liberty wouldn't build on that momentum and lost the next two games, including the series decider at home, by a combined fifty-six points.
Transactions
WNBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/team/country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Nyara Sabally |  Germany |
Oregon |
| 3 | 29 | Sika Koné |  Mali |
CB Islas Canarias (Spain) |
Trades and Roster Changes
| Date | Transaction | |
|---|---|---|
| December 6, 2021 | Parted ways with head coach Walt Hopkins | |
| December 31, 2021 | Renounced the rights to Olcay Cakir[5] | |
| January 7, 2022 | Hired Sandy Brondello as head coach [6] | |
| January 11, 2022 | Extended Qualifying Offers to Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe and Paris Kea[7] | |
| January 14, 2022 | Signed Paris Kea to the Qualifying Offer[8] | |
| February 3, 2022 | Signed Stefanie Dolson to a Two-Year Deal[9] | |
| February 4, 2022 | Waived Jazmine Jones and Leaonna Odom[10][11] | |
| Signed Rebecca Allen to a Two-Year Deal[12] | ||
| March 16, 2022 | Hired Olaf Lange, Roneeka Hodges, and Zach O'Brien as assistant coaches[13] | |
| April 11, 2022 | Traded a 2023 Second Round Pick to the Seattle Storm for the rights to Lorela Cubaj[14] | |
| April 15, 2022 | Signed Lorela Cubaj to a rookie-scale contract | |
| April 27, 2022 | Waived Paris Kea[15] | |
| May 2, 2022 | Full Season Suspension of the contract for Kylee Shook for personal reasons | |
| May 5, 2022 | Temporarily Suspend Rebecca Allen due to Overseas Commitments | |
| May 6, 2022 | Signed Kaila Charles to a Hardship Contract [16] | |
| May 8, 2022 | Released Kaila Charles from her Hardship Contract | |
| May 15, 2022 | Exercised the 4th Year Team Option on Sabrina Ionescu | |
| May 16, 2022 | Exercised the 4th Year Team Option on Jocelyn Willoughby | |
| May 17, 2022 | Activated Rebecca Allen from her Temporary Suspension | |
| May 21, 2022 | Signed Crystal Dangerfield to a Hardship Contract[17] | |
| June 8, 2022 | Traded AD to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for Megan Walker and the rights to Raquel Carrera[18] | |
| Waived Megan Walker | ||
| Signed Marine Johannès[19] | ||
| Released Crystal Dangerfield from her Hardship Contract | ||
| June 9, 2022 | Signed Crystal Dangerfield to a Hardship Contract[20] | |
| June 26, 2022 | Released Crystal Dangerfield from her Hardship Contract | |
| July 1, 2022 | Waived Lorela Cubaj[21] | |
| July 3, 2022 | Signed Crystal Dangerfield[22] | |
Roster
| 2022 New York Liberty roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Depth
Schedule
Preseason
| 2022 pre-season game log | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
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| 2022 pre-season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||
Regular Season
Playoffs
| 2022 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First round vs. Chicago Sky Lost Series: 1–2
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| 2022 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Standings
| # | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 13–5 | 13–5 | 9–1 |
| 2 | x – Chicago Sky | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 14–4 | 12–6 | 9–1 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 25 | 11 | .694 | 1.0 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 5–5 |
| 4 | x – Seattle Storm | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–4 |
| 5 | x – Washington Mystics | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 6 | x – Dallas Wings | 18 | 18 | .500 | 8.0 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 7 | x – New York Liberty | 16 | 20 | .444 | 10.0 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–4 |
| 8 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 15 | 21 | .417 | 11.0 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 3–7 |
| 9 | e – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–6 |
| 10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 11 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 13 | 23 | .361 | 13.0 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 12 | e – Indiana Fever | 5 | 31 | .139 | 21.0 | 2–16 | 3–15 | 2–16 | 2–8 |
Notes
- (#) – League Standing
- x – Clinched playoff berth
- e – Eliminated from playoff contention
- Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings
Playoffs
| First round Best-of-3 | Semifinals Best-of-5 | Finals Best-of-5 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Seattle Storm | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Seattle Storm | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Washington Mystics | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Connecticut Sun | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago Sky | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | New York Liberty | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago Sky | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Connecticut Sun | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Dallas Wings | 1 | ||||||||||||
- Bold – Series winner
- Italic – Team with home-court advantage
Statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | TO | Turnovers per game |
| PF | Fouls per game | Team leader | League leader | ||||
Regular Season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sabrina Ionescu | 36 | 36 | 32.3 | .411 | .333 | .931 | 7.1 | 6.3 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 17.4 |
| Natasha Howard | 35 | 35 | 29.9 | .482 | .326 | .715 | 7.3 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 15.1 |
| Betnijah Laney | 9 | 6 | 28.3 | .422 | .379 | .875 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 11.2 |
| Marine Johannès | 24 | 10 | 25.5 | .464 | .437 | .870 | 1.7 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 10.0 |
| Han Xu | 32 | 0 | 16.8 | .493 | .444 | .796 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 8.5 |
| Stefanie Dolson | 36 | 36 | 22.9 | .493 | .394 | .905 | 4.8 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 8.1 |
| Rebecca Allen | 25 | 19 | 20.9 | .379 | .313 | .833 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 7.0 |
| Sami Whitcomb | 35 | 6 | 21.3 | .366 | .351 | .870 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 6.5 |
| Crystal Dangerfield≠ | 30 | 27 | 22.1 | .395 | .323 | .700 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 5.4 |
| Michaela Onyenwere | 34 | 1 | 13.7 | .377 | .300 | .836 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 4.7 |
| Jocelyn Willoughby | 11 | 4 | 11.0 | .423 | .273 | .500 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 2.6 |
| DiDi Richards | 14 | 0 | 11.1 | .306 | .273 | .700 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 2.3 |
| AD Durr† | 10 | 0 | 7.0 | .176 | .111 | .875 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.4 |
| Lorela Cubaj‡ | 11 | 0 | 8.0 | .333 | .000 | .000 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
‡Waived/Released during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired during the season
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natasha Howard | 3 | 3 | 27.7 | .442 | .100 | 1.000 | 6.7 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 14.7 |
| Sabrina Ionescu | 3 | 3 | 31.0 | .531 | .400 | .750 | 6.0 | 4.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 14.3 |
| Betnijah Laney | 3 | 3 | 24.3 | .419 | .250 | .875 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 11.3 |
| Stefanie Dolson | 3 | 3 | 26.3 | .444 | .600 | .000 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 6.3 |
| Marine Johannès | 3 | 1 | 23.0 | .429 | .400 | 1.000 | 2.3 | 4.3 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 5.7 |
| Han Xu | 3 | 0 | 10.0 | .417 | 1.000 | .833 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 5.3 |
| Michaela Onyenwere | 3 | 0 | 7.3 | .364 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.7 |
| Rebecca Allen | 3 | 0 | 16.3 | .286 | .167 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 4.3 |
| DiDi Richards | 2 | 0 | 8.5 | .400 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 |
| Sami Whitcomb | 3 | 0 | 14.7 | .364 | .429 | .000 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3.7 |
| Jocelyn Willoughby | 2 | 0 | 7.0 | 1.000 | .000 | .667 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| Crystal Dangerfield | 3 | 2 | 9.0 | .273 | .250 | .000 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.3 |
Awards and honors
| Recipient | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sabrina Ionescu | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | June 13 | [23] |
| July 8 | [24] | ||
| August 8 | [25] | ||
| August 15 | [26] | ||
| WNBA All-Star Starter | June 22 | [27] | |
| Eastern Conference Player of the Month - June | July 5 | [28] | |
| Eastern Conference Player of the Month - August | August 16 | [29] | |
| All-WNBA Second Team | September 15 | [30] | |
| Natasha Howard | WNBA All-Star Selection | June 28 | [31] |