After the New York Liberty swept the Dallas Wings in two road games earlier this month, the team flew back to New York with a feeling of accomplishment. Their coach, Sandy Brondello, wasn’t with them.
Brondello instead flew to Phoenix where she joined her former players at the Footprint Center to honor the 2014 WNBA champion Mercury. It was a chance for her to recharge, spend time with her daughter, and, as she pointed out, clean the house where she lives in the offseason.
It also gave her a reminder of what she could accomplish with the 2024 Liberty.
“2014 was an extremely special team with what we were able to achieve, but it reminds me of this team, to be quite honest,” Brondello said. “We haven’t won a championship yet, but just how they’ve gone about this season, staying locked in. It’s more about the sacrifice and the discipline to be the best we can be.
“It’s hard to win a championship. I’ve been in a final a few times,” she continued. “I had eight great years in Phoenix and now I’d like to do that here in New York.”
With the Liberty finishing the regular season 32-8, there’s every reason to believe they can deliver Brondello her second championship. Yes, they lost two of their last three regular season games, but keep in mind one of those was a 78-67 defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Dream in a game that meant nothing to New York.
Similar to last year, when the Liberty lost in the WNBA Finals to the Las Vegas Aces in four games, they have the star power. Breanna Stewart is the reigning WNBA MVP, Jonquel Jones is a former MVP, Sabrina Ionescu just had her highest scoring average of her career and matched a career high in assists in a season. Then there’s Courtney Vandersloot, one of the best point guards to ever lace up.
But those same players couldn’t get it done for New York last year.
There have been some subtle differences in 2024. The Liberty overhauled their bench in the offseason and struck gold in all-Rookie candidate Leonie Fiebich. It’s made their secondary players more complimentary to their stars, whose roles have evolved.
The Liberty know their roles heading into the playoffs
Even the players who were here last year are in a slightly different spot. Reflecting on her 2014 team, Brondello gushed over how the players on that Mercury squad each embraced their specific roles. She used DeWanna Bonner as an example. Bonner had been a prolific scorer in her career to that point, posting better than 20 points a game off the bench two seasons prior.
Brondello asked her to take on more of a defensive specialist’s role.
“When I came in, I made her a defensive player and she kept telling me, ‘coach I’m going to keep shooting the ball,’ but she guarded the best player on the perimeter,” Brondello said of Bonner. “That was just her role for that year. It was just buying into doing what’s best for the team and I think that’s what this team is doing.”
That begs the question: Who is that player on the 2024 Liberty? Brondello didn’t hesitate to answer.
“That’s [Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s] role,” Brondello said. “She can do a lot of things and so could [Bonner], but it’s everyone just accepting their role that’s going to help this team be the best it can be.”
The Liberty didn’t figure out those roles overnight. Early in the season, the team made a habit out of blowing big leads, only to just hang on in the end. At times, they couldn’t hit a shot. Their bench, which was supposed to be a renewed strength, did not contribute early on.
Eventually, Fiebich became one of the best rookies in the league. She stepped up, starting when players were hurt and becoming a bona fide Sixth Player of the Year candidate. Her hot shooting also offset intermittent struggles from Ionescu and Stewart.
Nyara Sabally, finally healthy, emerged in the second half of the year as a critical frontcourt asset, establishing a presence on both ends. Kayla Thornton and Kennedy Burke both stepped up as well. Thornton shot 37% from three while Burke disrupted opponents’ offenses and filled in for Stewart when she went down.
Meanwhile the starters continue to do what they do. The team succeeded early because they could out-talent most other teams. The superstars can still do that when necessary — look no further than Stewart almost single-handedly bringing the team back against the Lynx in a loss last week, when she had 38 points and 18 rebounds.
The difference is the starters don’t have to do it all. You couldn’t say that last year or even the first month of this season.
Now, with a healthy rotation, the Liberty turn to the playoffs. They’ll face the same Dream team they lost to on Thursday in the best-of-three first round. Game 1 will take place at Barclays Center on Sunday, with tip time set for 1 p.m.
The post Sandy Brondello compares 2014 Mercury title team to current Liberty squad appeared first on ClutchPoints.
