The New York Liberty have been thinking big ever since drafting Sabrina Ionescu No. 1 overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft. They knew they were getting a special player, even among No. 1 picks, in the NCAA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles. Ionescu is the piece they knew they needed to build around.
So they formed a big three by bringing in Natasha Howard and Betnijah Laney and some people, like me, were high on the idea that that trio could lead a contender. And they did shock the Chicago Sky by taking a game in the first round of last year’s playoffs, but ultimately ended up with two first-round exits in the trio’s time together.
So the Liberty set their sights higher. Now they have Swish Appeal’s No. 1 WNBA player Jonquel Jones, a considerable upgrade over Howard. And they didn’t have to give up Laney in the deal.
Jones and Ionescu finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in MVP voting last year, with Jones winning the award in 2021. Based the 2022 MVP results, they are now the third-best 1-2 punch in the league behind A’ja Wilson/Kelsey Plum and Brittney Griner/Skylar Diggins-Smith, assuming Griner would have finished in the Top 8 in MVP voting (Diggins-Smith was sixth, Wilson was first, Plum was third).
But the Liberty aren’t done yet. And we all know…
