New York Liberty: History, roster, coach, ownership, all-time players

One of the WNBA’s original eight franchises, the New York Liberty finally broke through in 2024 to win their first championship, defeating the Minnesota Lynx three games to two.

New York saw plenty of success in its first few years of existence, reaching the WNBA Finals four times in six years between 1997 and 2002. Despite making the playoffs in 12 of next 20 years, the Liberty did not reach the finals again until 2023 – when they lost to the Las Vegas Aces.

Now, entering 2025, the Liberty boast one of the league’s best rosters and are +190 favorites to win a second-straight championship.

New York Liberty Season History

Season	Record	Playoffs	Coach
2024	32-8	Won WNBA Finals	Sandy Brondello
2023	32-8	Lost WNBA Finals	Sandy Brondello
2022	16-20	Lost First Round	Sandy Brondello
2021	12-20	Lost First Round	Walt Hopkins
2020	2-20	N/A	Walt Hopkins
2019	10-24	N/A	Katie Smith
2018	7-27	N/A	Katie Smith
2017	22-12	Lost Second Round	Bill Laimbeer
2016	21-13	Lost Second Round	Bill Laimbeer
2015	23-11	Lost Eastern Conference Finals	Bill Laimbeer
2014	15-19	N/A	Bill Laimbeer
2013	11-23	N/A	Bill Laimbeer
2012	15-19	Lost Eastern Conference Semis	John Whisenant
2011	19-15	Lost Eastern Conference Semis	John Whisenant
2010	2-12	Lost Eastern Conference Finals	Anne Donovan
2009	13-1	N/A	Pat Coyle, Anne Donovan
2008	19-15	Lost Eastern Conference Finals	Pat Coyle
2007	16-18	Lost Eastern Conference Semis	Pat Coyle
2006	11-23	N/A	Pat Coyle
2005	18-16	Lost Eastern Conference Semis	Pat Coyle
2004	18-16	Lost Eastern Conference Finals	Richie Adubato, Pat Coyle
2003	16-18	N/A	Richie Adubato
2002	18-14	Lost WNBA Finals	Richie Adubato
2001	21-11	Lost Eastern Conference Finals	Richie Adubato
2000	20-12	Lost WNBA Finals	Richie Adubato
1999	18-14	Lost WNBA Finals	Richie Adubato
1998	18-12	N/A	Nancy Darsch
1997	17-11	Lost WNBA Finals	Nancy Darsch

New York Liberty WNBA Championship History

The New York Liberty have won one WNBA championship, and it came in 2024.

New York defeated the Minnesota Lynx in five games to capture the franchise’s first title in its sixth WNBA Finals appearance. Forward Jonquel Jones was named WNBA Finals MVP.

The Liberty earned the top seed in the playoffs with a 32-8 record in the regular season, and faced off against the No. 2 seed Lynx.

After blowing an 18-point lead at home to lose a dramatic Game 1 in overtime, New York rattled off back-to-back wins to take a 2-1 series lead.

In Game 3, Breanna Stewart scored 30 points and Sabrina Ionescu drained a deep 3-pointer with one second remaining, giving the Liberty an 80-77 win, a dagger blow to the Lynx who were moments away from reaching overtime.

Needing one more win to clinch the title, Stewart and Ionescu shot a combined 10/36 in Game 4 and Minnesota’s Bridget Carlton hit a pair of free throws with two seconds left, giving the Lynx an 82-80 lead and sending the series to a Game 5 decider.

Game 5 was a classic back-and-forth, low-scoring slugfest.

After Breanna Stewart drained two free throws to tie the game 60-60 with 5.2 remaining in regulation, the Liberty relied on defense and role players in overtime – Stewart and Ionescu shot a shocking 5/34 in the game – to carry them home to their first title.

New York Liberty 2025 Roster

Name	Position	Height	College	Years Pro
Jaylyn Sherrod	G	5-7	Colorado	1
Adja Kane	F	6-3	-	Rookie
Marquesha Davis	G	6-0	Mississippi	1
Rebekah Gardner	G	6-1	UCLA	2
Nyara Sabally	C	6-5	Oregon	2
Natasha Cloud	G	5-10	St. Joseph's	9
Esmery Martinez	F	6-2	Arizona	Rookie
Leonie Fiebich	F	6-4	-	1
Sabrina Ionescu	G	5-11	Oregon	5
Isabelle Harrison	F	6-3	Tennessee	7
Kennedy Burke	G/F	6-1	UCLA	5
Marine Johannes	G	5-10	-	3
Breanna Stewart	F	6-4	Connecticut	8
Leaonna Odom	F	6-2	Duke	2
Jonquel Jones	C	6-6	George Washington	8
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton	G/F	6-0	Rutgers	9

New York Liberty Head Coach

Sandy Brondello enters her fourth season as Liberty head coach in 2025.

Brondello, 56, hails from Mackay, Queensland, Australia, and is a three-time Olympic medalist as a player (1996, 2000, 2004) and bronze medalist as a head coach (2024), having coached Australia in the 2024 summer games.

Brondello played 10 years in Australia's WNBL before coming to the U.S., where she played five seasons for the Detroit Shock, Miami Sol and Seattle Storm, including being selected to play in the WNBA's first-ever All-Star Game in 1999.

As a coach, Brondello is a two-time WNBA champion with the Phoenix Mercury (2014), in her first year with the team, then with the Liberty in 2024.

Brondello has served as the head coach of the Australia women's basketball team since 2017.

New York Liberty Owners

The Liberty are owned by Joseph Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, who are also co-owners of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets.

The Tsais are largely credited with re-vitalizing the Liberty franchise, purchasing the team from New York Knicks and New York Rangers owner James Dolan in 2019 and moving them to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Tsais sought to provide resources equal to that of an NBA team, from front office staff, to trainers, to facilities and more.

The Tsais built their fortune in business, with Joseph co-founding Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and Clara serving as a senior executive for American Express and Taobao Hong Kong.

New York Liberty All-Time Players

Vickie Johnson

Johnson played for the Liberty from 1997 until 2005, leading New York to four WNBA Finals appearances in the franchise’s first six years of existence.

The 5-foot-9 guard/forward, a product of Louisiana Tech, averaged 11.5 points per game in nine seasons with the Liberty, seven of which they reached the playoffs.

Johnson is the franchise’s all-time leader in games played with 282.

Becky Hammon

Hammon, the current coach of the Las Vegas Aces and former San Antonio Spurs assistant, played the first eight seasons of her career with the Liberty (1999-2006), making three All-Star teams and helping lead the team to three WNBA Finals appearances.

Hammon ranks top-5 in Liberty history in games played, points scored, 3-pointers made, assists and steals.

Tina Charles

Charles, a WNBA icon, played for the Liberty between 2014 and 2019 and is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer (3,739) and rebounder (1,723).

Breanna Stewart

Stewart is only entering her third season with the Liberty, but the 30-year-old has already etched her name into the franchise’s history books.

An All-WNBA 1st team and All-Defensive 1st team selection is each of her two years in New York, Stewart was the key in turning a struggling franchise into WNBA champions for the first time.

In just two seasons, Stewart already ranks in the Liberty’s top-10 all-time lists for points scored and blocks.

Sabrina Ionescu

Alongside Stewart, Ionescu, selected first overall by the Liberty in the 2020 WNBA Draft, was essential in the Liberty’s back-to-back WNBA Finals runs in 2023 and 2024.

The 27-year-old is a 3x All-Star and 3x All-WNBA 2nd team selection, and has averaged 16.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6 assists in five professional seasons with New York.

Ionescu ranks top-10 all-time for the Liberty in minutes played, points scored, rebounds, assists, field goals made, and 3-point field goals made.

Find out how you can watch and stream every New York Liberty game in 2025 with our TV & schedule guide.