Prior to the team's first season, to avoid potential trademark infringement, the team purchased the trademarks of the defunct Liberty Basketball Association.
When the WNBA opened in 1997, the Liberty were one of the first teams to choose a player, and they signed college superstar Rebecca Lobo (UConn) to a contract. Lobo was a starter for two seasons, but was injured in 1999. Her injuries eventually led to her retirement several seasons later. Point guardTeresa Weatherspoon emerged as a star, and the Liberty made it to the 1997 championship game, where the team lost to the Houston Comets. In 1999, they added Crystal Robinson with the 6th overall pick[4] and returned to the WNBA Finals, where they again faced the Comets. In Game 2, Teresa Weatherspoon's halfcourt shot at the buzzer gave the Liberty a one-point road win that tied the series at a game apiece. However, the Liberty lost the third game of the series and the Comets became champions for a third straight time.
In 2000, the Liberty traded for Tari Phillips who blossomed in New York and made four straight All-Star teams. In 2001, Weatherspoon became the WNBA's all-time assist leader. Teamed with Robinson, Phillips and an emerging Sue Wicks, who was once a back-up to Lobo at forward but made the 2000 All-Star game, Weatherspoon and the Liberty subsequently returned to the finals in 2000 and 2002, but lost once again to the Comets and to the Los Angeles Sparks, respectively. The Liberty also advanced to the WNBA Eastern Conference Finals in 2001.
Transition seasons (2003–2009)
Madison Square Garden during a Liberty game
The 2003 season marked a transition for the Liberty and with team leader Teresa Weatherspoon's WNBA career winding down, fan favorite Becky Hammon emerged as a star player. The 2004 season saw Hammon replacing Weatherspoon as the team's starting point guard.
The Liberty played six of their home games during the 2004 season at Radio City Music Hall as Madison Square Garden was hosting the 2004 Republican National Convention.[5] These games marked the first time Radio City had hosted a professional sporting event since the Roy Jones Jr. boxing match held in 1999.
With team leader Tari Phillips being signed away to the Houston Comets, Ann Wauters emerged as a force at the team's starting center position in 2005. However, she was injured midway through the season. The loss of Wauters was felt as the team was swept two games to none by the Indiana Fever in the first round of the playoffs.
The Liberty had a poor 2006 season, winning only 11 games.
At the beginning of the 2007 WNBA season, the team traded Becky Hammon to the San Antonio Silver Stars for Jessica Davenport, a first round pick in the 2007 WNBA draft. They also acquired center Janel McCarville through the dispersal draft associated with the dissolution of the Charlotte Sting. The 2007 Liberty started out 5–0, then lost 7 straight games, then rallied at the end of the season to get the last playoff spot by winning 3 out of their last 4 games, beating the Washington Mystics on the tiebreaker of head-to-head record. In the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Liberty, as huge underdogs, faced the defending champion Detroit Shock in a best-of-three series. The Liberty defeated the Shock in game 1 in New York. In games 2 and 3 the Liberty lost both games to the Shock in Detroit, 76–73 and 71–70 (OT), respectively.
In 2008, the Liberty drafted former Rutgers shooting guard Essence Carson and former North Carolina forward Erlana Larkins, and signed former Utah point guard Leilani Mitchell during the preseason. Despite having the youngest average age of any WNBA team, the Liberty managed to win 19 regular season games in 2008, to defeat the Connecticut Sun in the first round of playoff action, and to come within two points of defeating the Detroit Shock in the third and last game of the Eastern Conference Finals. Again, the Detroit series entailed a Liberty victory at home in Game 1, followed by narrow defeats away in Games 2 and 3. The 2008 season also featured the "Liberty Outdoor Classic", the first ever professional regular season basketball game to be played outdoors, on July 19 at Arthur Ashe Stadium of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The Indiana Fever defeated the Liberty in the Outdoor Classic.
In the 2009 WNBA draft, the Liberty selected local favorite Kia Vaughn from Rutgers. With a solid core group, the Liberty looked to be a contender in the East yet again.
In the 2009 season, however, they never proved to be a contender and the team fired head coach Pat Coyle. To replace Coyle, the Liberty hired then-Liberty assistant coach Anne Donovan on an interim basis. Despite the coaching change, the franchise continued to struggle, finishing 13–21, their second worst record in franchise history.
The Cappie Pondexter era (2010–2014)
The New York Liberty fared better in 2010, during Donovan's first and only full season as head coach. Led by newly signed high scorer Cappie Pondexter (formerly of the Phoenix Mercury) and the 2010 Most Improved Player Award winner Leilani Mitchell, the team made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to the Atlanta Dream.
The team had high hopes for 2011, after the hiring of former WNBA champion head coach John Whisenant. Janel McCarville did not report to training camp, seeking time with her family, and as such, was suspended for the duration of the 2011 season. This caused division and discord within the New York Liberty fanbase. Kia Vaughn was unexpectedly thrust into the role of starting Center.
The Liberty were originally scheduled to be displaced from their usual home court due to renovations at Madison Square Garden scheduled to begin in 2009. However, the renovation plans were delayed, and the Liberty played at the Garden in 2009 and 2010. The Liberty ended up playing in the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, for their 2011, 2012, and 2013 seasons while the renovations were ongoing.
Pondexter and Plenette Pierson, along with improved play from Vaughn, allowed New York to be competitive early in the 2011 season. The team went into the All-Star break in third place in the Eastern Conference. In August, Sidney Spencer was traded to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for Kara Braxton. By maintaining a fairly even standard of play, the Liberty made their way into the WNBA playoffs. However, the Liberty fell to the Indiana Fever in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Just before the 2014 WNBA draft, the New York Liberty traded Kelsey Bone, the fourth overall pick in the 2014 WNBA draft (Alyssa Thomas) and the fourth overall pick in the 2015 WNBA draft to the Connecticut Sun for WNBA All-Star Tina Charles, who had requested a trade.
On May 5, 2015, the Liberty hired Thomas as team president overseeing all business and basketball operations of the franchise.[7] Under Thomas' leadership as team president and the coaching staff led by Bill Laimbeer as head coach, the Liberty finished first in the Eastern Conference during the 2015 season.[8]
On August 2, 2015, during halftime at the game against the Seattle Storm, the New York Liberty inducted WNBA legend Becky Hammon into the Liberty's Ring of Honor. Thomas presented Hammon with her ring during the induction ceremony at Madison Square Garden. Hammon is currently the head coach of the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces.
After qualifying for the 2016 WNBA playoffs, the Liberty lost to the Phoenix Mercury in the second round.[9] The Liberty lost to the Washington Mystics in the second round of the 2017 WNBA playoffs.
In November 2017, the Madison Square Garden Company and James L. Dolan announced they were actively looking to sell the franchise.[10] After not immediately finding a buyer, MSG relocated most of the Liberty's 2018 home games to Westchester County Center in nearby White Plains, New York, the home of MSG's NBA G League team the Westchester Knicks, while still continuing to pursue a sale.[11] In 2018, the Liberty failed to make the playoffs, with a 7–27 record.
The Tsai era (2019–present)
Joseph Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai at the New York Liberty's 2024 Ticker Tape Parade.
On January 23, 2019, the Liberty were sold to Joseph Tsai, co-founder of the Alibaba Group, a Chinese internet company, who then owned 49% of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets,[12] and Clara Wu Tsai, an American businesswoman and founder of nonprofit organizationReform Alliance.[13][14] Isiah Thomas was relieved of his duties a month later, on February 21, 2019.[15] During the 2019 season, the Liberty played two games in Brooklyn at the Nets' home of the Barclays Center, with the rest still in White Plains. Later that year, Joseph Tsai became the sole owner of the Nets and the Barclays Center.[16] For the 2020 season, the Tsais relocated the Liberty to Brooklyn on a full-time basis.[17]
The Liberty were major players in the 2020 WNBA draft, entering that draft with three first-round picks plus two in the early second round. Shortly before the draft, they traded former league MVP Tina Charles to the Washington Mystics in a deal that also involved the Dallas Wings.[18] They chose Sabrina Ionescu as the first pick, with Megan Walker and Jazmine Jones selected later in that round.[19] The team also introduced a new logo, featuring a simplified version of their Statue of Liberty branding. The color black was also made one of the primary colors, echoing the aesthetic of their NBA brother squad, the Brooklyn Nets.[20]
The Liberty began the 2020 season, held in a "bubble" in Bradenton, Florida, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with seven rookies on their opening-night roster.[21] The team suffered a major blow in their third game, in which Ionescu suffered a severe ankle sprain that ultimately ended her season.[22] The Liberty ended the season with a league-worst 2–20 record. Despite the lack of wins, one of the first-year players, 12th overall pick Jazmine Jones, was named to the Associated Press and WNBA's All-Rookie teams.[23][24]
2024 New York Liberty Game at the Barclays Center Arena
The Liberty made major splashes during the 2021 offseason. Prior to its first season as full-time tenants of Barclays Center, the Liberty added WNBA champions Natasha Howard and Sami Whitcomb in a multi-team trade that sent Kia Nurse and Megan Walker to the Phoenix Mercury [25] and signed Betnijah Laney, the league's 2020 Most Improved Player Award winner.[26] The team then added Michaela Onyenwere and DiDi Richards in the 2021 WNBA draft. Laney would represent the Liberty at the 2021 WNBA All-Star Game while Onyenwere won the Associated Press' Rookie of the Year Award. New York finished the year with a 12–20 record but the 10-game improvement in the win column was enough to push the team into the WNBA playoffs for the first time since 2017. Seeded eighth, the Liberty put up a valiant effort against No. 5 Phoenix in the opening but fell by an 83–82 final.
On December 6, 2021, the Liberty and head coach Walt Hopkins Jr. parted ways.[27] The team would hire former Phoenix head coach Sandy Brondello in his place just over a month later on January 7, 2022.[28] On the roster, the team brought in Stefanie Dolson of the defending champion Chicago Sky and drafted Nyara Sabally fifth overall, though the latter would miss her whole rookie season with an injury. In Brondello's first season at the helm, the team was forced to overcome an early injury to Laney and got off to a 1–7 start. But the All-Star efforts of Ionescu and Howard kept the team afloat and they would end the season on a three-game winning streak to secure its second consecutive playoff berth. In the ensuing postseason, the Liberty won the opening game of a best-of-three set with the Chicago Sky but dropped the latter pair.
The New York Liberty's "Light it Up" torch is lit after an October 1, 2024 New York Liberty win against the Las Vegas Aces in the Semifinals of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs.
In 2023, the Liberty made several major transactions that turned them into immediate contenders: the team acquired 2021 WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones from the Connecticut Sun in a three-team deal that also obtained reserve Kayla Thornton from the Dallas Wings. The Liberty then added the equally accomplished Breanna Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot in free agency. Over the ensuing season, the Liberty won a franchise-record 32 games and defeated the Las Vegas Aces in the Commissioner's Cup in-season competition, with Jones securing MVP honors. The Liberty then took down the Washington Mystics and Connecticut Sun in the WNBA playoffs to earn their first WNBA Finals berth since 2002. Las Vegas, however, took revenge and the best-of-five series in four games.
NY Liberty 2024 World Championship Ring
New York retained most of its core from the Finals run, re-signing both Jones [29] and Stewart.[30] Further assisted by the emergence of WNBA rookie Leonie Fiebich, the Liberty once again won 32 games, tying the franchise record set the year before. The Liberty also returned to the Commissioner's Cup final but were denied a repeat by the Minnesota Lynx.[31] This time around, the 32 wins were good enough to secure the top seed on the WNBA playoff bracket, which saw the Liberty sweep the eighth-ranked Atlanta Dream in two games before defeating the Aces 3-1 in the semifinals.[32] New York won its first WNBA Championship beating the Minnesota Lynx in the 2024 WNBA Finals.[33]
Kisha Ford (1997–1998) Madison Square Garden was home to the Liberty from 1997 until 2018, except for the 2011, 2012, and 2013 seasons due to summer renovations.
A sellout for a Liberty game at Barclays Center (2021–present) is considered to be 8,575, the team's initial cap on ticket sales at that venue. The full capacity for basketball is 17,732.
December 15, 1999: The Liberty acquired Michele Van Gorp from the Portland Fire in exchange for Portland agreeing to select Sophia Witherspoon and Coquese Washington in the expansion draft.
May 28, 2000: The Liberty traded Carolyn Jones-Young to the Portland Fire in exchange for Tari Phillips.
February 24, 2006: The Liberty traded the 9th overall pick in the 2006 draft to the Indiana Fever in exchange for Kelly Schumacher and the 12th overall pick in the 2006 draft.
April 4, 2007: The Liberty traded Becky Hammon and a second-round pick in the 2008 draft to the San Antonio Silver Stars in exchange for draft rights to Jessica Davenport and a first-round pick in the 2008 draft.
June 20, 2007: The Liberty traded Sherill Baker to the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for Lisa Willis.
May 7, 2008: The Liberty traded a third-round pick in the 2009 draft to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for Leilani Mitchell.
May 5, 2009: The Liberty traded a first-round pick in the 2010 draft to the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for Sidney Spencer.
March 30, 2010: The Liberty traded Shameka Christon and Cathrine Kraayeveld to the Chicago Sky in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2010 draft and Cappie Pondexter and Kelly Mazzante from the Phoenix Mercury. Phoenix received Candice Dupree from Chicago as part of this trade.
April 11, 2011: The Liberty traded Angel Robinson to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Jessica Breland and a second-round pick in the 2012 draft.
April 11, 2011: The Liberty traded Kalana Greene to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Sydney Colson.
May 27, 2011: The Liberty acquired Quanitra Hollingsworth from the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for the right to swap third-round picks in the 2012 draft.
August 4, 2011: The Liberty traded Sidney Spencer to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for Kara Braxton.
February 27, 2013: The Liberty traded Kia Vaughn to the Washington Mystics in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2013 draft.
March 1, 2013: The Liberty traded Janel McCarville to the Minnesota Lynx and Nicole Powell plus a third-round pick in the 2013 draft to the Tulsa Shock. In exchange, the Liberty received Deanna Nolan, a second-round pick in the 2013 draft, and a third-round pick in the 2013 draft.
April 15, 2013: The Liberty traded Quanitra Hollingsworth to the Washington Mystics in exchange for the 25th overall pick in the 2013 draft.
April 14, 2014: The Liberty traded Kelsey Bone, Alyssa Thomas and a first-round pick in the 2015 draft to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Tina Charles.
July 9, 2014: The Liberty traded DeLisha Milton-Jones to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for Swin Cash.
February 16, 2015: The Liberty traded Cappie Pondexter to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Epiphanny Prince.
April 16, 2015: The Liberty traded Alex Montgomery to the San Antonio Stars in exchange for the 9th overall pick in the 2015 draft. The Liberty also traded Anna Cruz and 16th and 35th overall picks to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for the 11th, 23rd and 28th overall picks in the 2015 draft.
May 2, 2016: The Liberty traded a second-round pick in the 2017 draft to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for Shoni Schimmel.
May 11, 2016: The Liberty traded a first-round pick in the 2017 draft to the Dallas Wings in exchange for Amanda Zahui B. and a second-round pick in the 2017 draft.
January 30, 2017: The Liberty traded Carolyn Swords and a first-round pick in the 2017 draft to the Seattle Storm in exchange for Kia Vaughn and Bria Hartley.
April 11, 2019 : The Liberty traded their second round pick in the 2020 draft to Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Tanisha Wright.
April 11, 2020: The Liberty engaged in a three team trade where the team acquired the 13th pick in the 2020 draft and sent Sugar Rodgers to Las Vegas.
April 17, 2020: The Liberty traded the draft rights to Erica Ogwumike to Minnesota in exchange for Stephanie Talbot.
April 17, 2020: The Liberty acquired the draft rights for Jocelyn Willoughby from Phoenix in exchange for Shatori Walker-Kimbrough.
February 10, 2021: The Liberty traded Kia Nurse and Megan Walker to Phoenix in exchange for the 6th pick in the 2021 draft and the Mercury's first-round pick in the 2022 draft.
February 10, 2021: The Liberty traded the 1st overall pick in the 2021 draft, a second-round pick in the 2022 draft, and their second-round 2022 Draft pick to Seattle in exchange for Natasha Howard.
February 10, 2021: The Liberty traded the rights to Stephanie Talbot to Seattle in exchange for Sami Whitcomb.
April 11, 2022: The Liberty traded their Second Round pick in the 2023 draft to Seattle in exchange for the rights to Lorela Cubaj.
June 8, 2022: The Liberty traded Asia Durr to Atlanta in exchange for Megan Walker and the rights to Raquel Carrera.
January 16, 2023 The Liberty traded Rebecca Allen, the 6th pick in the 2023 draft, Natasha Howard, and Crystal Dangerfield as part of a three team trade and received Jonquel Jones and Kayla Thornton.
February 11, 2023 The Liberty traded Michaela Onyenwere as part of a four team trade and received the rights to Leonie Fiebich, Chicago's second round pick in the 2024 draft, and the rights to swap first-round picks in the 2025 draft with Phoenix.
March 14, 2024 The Liberty traded their second round picks in the 2025 and 2026 WNBA draft in exchange for Rebekah Gardner.
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