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.
Ahead of the season, the Liberty parted ways with head coach Walt Hopkins on December 6, 2021, after two years with the team. On January 7, 2022, the Liberty announced the hiring of new head coach Sandy Brondello
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.
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 Oregon 3 29 Sika Koné CB Islas Canarias
Trades and Roster Changes DateTransaction December 6, 2021 Parted ways with head coach Walt Hopkins December 31, 2021 Renounced the rights to Olcay Cakir January 7, 2022 Hired Sandy Brondello as head coach January 11, 2022 Extended Qualifying Offers to Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe and Paris Kea January 14, 2022 Signed Paris Kea to the Qualifying Offer February 3, 2022 Signed Stefanie Dolson to a Two-Year Deal February 4, 2022 Waived Jazmine Jones and Leaonna Odom Signed Rebecca Allen to a Two-Year Deal March 16, 2022 Hired Olaf Lange, Roneeka Hodges, and Zach O'Brien as assistant coaches April 11, 2022 Traded a 2023 Second Round Pick to the Seattle Storm for the rights to Lorela Cubaj April 15, 2022 Signed Lorela Cubaj to a rookie-scale contract April 27, 2022 Waived Paris Kea 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 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 June 8, 2022 Traded AD to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for Megan Walker and the rights to Raquel Carrera Waived Megan Walker Signed Marine Johannès Released Crystal Dangerfield from her Hardship Contract June 9, 2022 Signed Crystal Dangerfield to a Hardship Contract June 26, 2022 Released Crystal Dangerfield from her Hardship Contract July 1, 2022 Waived Lorela Cubaj July 3, 2022 Signed Crystal Dangerfield
Roster
Depth Pos.StarterBench C Stefanie Dolson Han Xu PF Natasha Howard Michaela Onyenwere SF Betnijah Laney Rebecca AllenJocelyn Willoughby SG Sabrina Ionescu Marine JohannèsDiDi Richards PG Crystal Dangerfield Sami Whitcomb
Schedule
Preseason
|- style="background:#ccc;" | 1 | April 30 | Washington | colspan=4 | Canceled | Barclays Center | 0–0
Regular Season
| 1 | May 7 | Connecticut | W 81–79 | Sabrina Ionescu (25) | Natasha Howard (6) | Sabrina Ionescu (6) | Barclays Center6,829 | 1–0 |- | 2 | May 11 | @ Chicago | L 50–83 | Han Xu (10) | DolsonIonescu (6) | Betnijah Laney (6) | Wintrust Arena4,935 | 1–1 |- | 3 | May 13 | Indiana | L 86–92 (OT) | Sabrina Ionescu (31) | Natasha Howard (9) | Sabrina Ionescu (7) | Barclays Center3,289 | 1–2 |- | 4 | May 15 | Dallas | L 71–81 | Sabrina Ionescu (17) | Natasha Howard (8) | Sabrina Ionescu (6) | Barclays Center3,095 | 1–3 |- | 5 | May 17 | Connecticut | L 65–92 | Betnijah Laney (16) | Stefanie Dolson (7) | Sabrina Ionescu (4) | Barclays Center3,054 | 1–4 |- | 6 | May 24 | @ Minnesota | L 78–84 | Natasha Howard (23) | Sabrina Ionescu (9) | Sami Whitcomb (9) | Target Center6,104 | 1–5 |- | 7 | May 27 | @ Seattle | L 71–79 | Natasha Howard (19) | Natasha Howard (9) | Sami Whitcomb (8) | Climate Pledge Arena10,001 | 1–6 |- | 8 | May 29 | @ Seattle | L 61–92 | Han Xu (13) | Han Xu (8) | Sabrina Ionescu (4) | Climate Pledge Arena10,228 | 1–7
| 9 | June 1 | Indiana | W 87–74 | Sabrina Ionescu (23) | Stefanie Dolson (8) | Stefanie Dolson (7) | Barclays Center4,079 | 2–7 |- | 10 | June 3 | @ Washington | W 74–70 | Sabrina Ionescu (24) | Stefanie Dolson (8) | Crystal Dangerfield (4) | Entertainment and Sports Arena3,857 | 3–7 |- | 11 | June 5 | Minnesota | L 77–84 | Sabrina Ionescu (31) | Michaela Onyenwere (6) | Sabrina Ionescu (7) | Barclays Center4,119 | 3–8 |- | 12 | June 7 | Minnesota | W 88–69 | Sabrina Ionescu (26) | Sabrina Ionescu (8) | Sabrina Ionescu (8) | Barclays Center3,196 | 4–8 |- | 13 | June 10 | @ Indiana | W 97–83 | Natasha Howard (25) | Natasha Howard (10) | Sabrina Ionescu (7) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum1,393 | 5–8 |- | 14 | June 12 | Chicago | L 86–88 | Sabrina Ionescu (27) | Sabrina Ionescu (13) | Sabrina Ionescu (12) | Barclays Center4,810 | 5–9 |- | 15 | June 16 | Washington | W 77–65 | Natasha Howard (27) | Natasha Howard (9) | Sabrina Ionescu (9) | Barclays Center4,168 | 6–9 |- | 16 | June 19 | Seattle | L 72–81 | Marine Johannès (23) | Natasha Howard (11) | Sabrina Ionescu (10) | Barclays Center6,859 | 6–10 |- | 17 | June 22 | @ Connecticut | W 81–77 | Stefanie Dolson (16) | Sabrina Ionescu (11) | Sabrina Ionescu (6) | Mohegan Sun4,652 | 7–10 |- | 18 | June 24 | @ Atlanta | W 89–77 | Sabrina Ionescu (21) | Natasha Howard (10) | Sabrina Ionescu (8) | Gateway Center Arena2,697 | 8–10 |- | 19 | June 30 | Atlanta | L 81–92 (OT) | Stefanie Dolson (20) | Sabrina Ionescu (13) | Sabrina Ionescu (7) | Barclays Center6,161 | 8–11
| 20 | July 3 | @ Los Angeles | L 74–84 | Marine Johannès (17) | Sabrina Ionescu (9) | Sabrina Ionescu (8) | Crypto.com Arena5,436 | 8–12 |- | 21 | July 6 | @ Las Vegas | W 116–107 | Sabrina Ionescu (31) | Sabrina Ionescu (13) | Sabrina Ionescu (10) | Michelob Ultra Arena8,405 | 9–12 |- | 22 | July 7 | @ Phoenix | L 81–84 | Sabrina Ionescu (22) | Sabrina Ionescu (10) | Marine Johannès (6) | Footprint Center6,158 | 9–13 |- | 23 | July 12 | Las Vegas | L 101–107 | Sabrina Ionescu (27) | Natasha Howard (11) | IonescuJohannès (5) | Barclays Center5,201 | 9–14 |- | 24 | July 14 | Las Vegas | L 74–108 | Natasha Howard (19) | Natasha Howard (9) | Sabrina Ionescu (6) | Barclays Center9,896 | 9–15 |- | 25 | July 19 | @ Connecticut | L 63–82 | Sabrina Ionescu (13) | Stefanie Dolson (6) | Sabrina Ionescu (4) | Mohegan Sun Arena6,288 | 9–16 |- | 26 | July 21 | @ Washington | L 69–78 | Natasha Howard (17) | Natasha Howard (10) | Crystal Dangerfield (5) | Capital One Arena7,431 | 9–17 |- | 27 | July 23 | Chicago | W 83–80 | Sabrina Ionescu (17) | Natasha Howard (10) | Sabrina Ionescu (9) | Barclays Center6,926 | 10–17 |- | 28 | July 29 | @ Chicago | L 81–89 | Sabrina Ionescu (16) | Natasha Howard (10) | Sabrina Ionescu (6) | Wintrust Arena6,924 | 10–18 |- | 29 | July 31 | Phoenix | W 89–69 | Natasha Howard (23) | Natasha Howard (12) | Sabrina Ionescu (16) | Barclays Center6,433 | 11–18
| 30 | August 2 | Los Angeles | W 102–73 | Sabrina Ionescu (31) | Natasha Howard (11) | Han Xu (8) | Barclays Center4,891 | 12–18 |- | 31 | August 3 | Los Angeles | W 64–61 | Sabrina Ionescu (20) | DolsonIonescu (8) | Sabrina Ionescu (6) | Barclays Center5,315 | 13–18 |- | 32 | August 6 | @ Phoenix | L 62–76 | Sabrina Ionescu (20) | Stefanie Dolson (7) | Sabrina Ionescu (5) | Footprint Center11,724 | 13–19 |- | 33 | August 8 | @ Dallas | L 77–86 | Sabrina Ionescu (32) | Sabrina Ionescu (7) | Sabrina Ionescu (4) | College Park Center3,036 | 13–20 |- | 34 | August 10 | @ Dallas | W 91–73 | Sami Whitcomb (15) | Sabrina Ionescu (9) | Sabrina Ionescu (7) | College Park Center3,795 | 14–20 |- | 35 | August 12 | @ Atlanta | W 80–70 | Crystal Dangerfield (18) | Natasha Howard (12) | DangerfieldIonescu (6) | Gateway Center Arena3,138 | 15–20 |- | 36 | August 14 | Atlanta | W 87–83 | N. HowardJohannes (18) | Stefanie Dolson (12) | Sabrina Ionescu (7) | Barclays Center7,561 | 16–20
Playoffs
| 1 | August 17 | @ Chicago | W 98–91 | N. HowardIonescu (22) | DolsonN. HowardIonescu (7) | Marine Johannès (7) | Wintrust Arena7,524 | 1–0 |- | 2 | August 20 | @ Chicago | L 62–100 | OnyenwereXu (10) | IonescuXu (5) | DolsonIonescuLaneyWhitcomb (3) | Wintrust Arena7,732 | 1–1 |- | 3 | August 23 | Chicago | L 72–90 | Betnijah Laney (15) | Natasha Howard (11) | IonescuJohannès (4) | Barclays Center7,837 | 1–2
Standings
Playoffs
Statistics
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 July 8 August 8 August 15 WNBA All-Star Starter June 22 Eastern Conference Player of the Month - June July 5 Eastern Conference Player of the Month - August August 16 All-WNBA Second Team September 15 Natasha Howard WNBA All-Star Selection June 28
References
External links The Official Site of the New York Liberty