The New York Liberty
is a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in New York City. They are one of the eight original WNBA teams that began to see action in 1997, as well one of the most successful teams in WNBA history. Despite making the WNBA playoffs almost every season and appearing in the WNBA Finals 4 times, they have yet to win a championship. The team derives its name from the Statue of Liberty. They are the sister team of the New York Knicks.
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NEW YORK LIBERTY TICKETS
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Franchise history
In the Shadow of the West (1997-2002)
Prior to the team's first season, to avoid potential trademark infringement, the team purchased the trademarks of the defunct Liberty Basketball Association.
The adage "always the bridesmaid, never the bride," could be used to describe the Liberty. When the WNBA opened in 1997, the Liberty was one of the first teams to choose a player, and they signed college superstar
Rebecca Lobo (
University of Connecticut) to a contract. Lobo was a starter for two seasons but was injured in 1999, and her injuries eventually led to her retirement several seasons later.
Point guard Teresa 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 returned to the WNBA Finals, where they again faced Comets. In Game 2, Teresa Weatherspoon's fullcourt shot with point five seconds remaining gave the Liberty a one point win that tied the series. However, the Liberty lost the third game of the series and the Comets became champions for a third straight time.
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. In 2001, Weatherspoon became the WNBA's all-time assist leader, and
Sue Wicks, once a back-up to Lobo at forward, also proved to be a valuable player, making the All-Star game. 1998, 2003, and 2006 were the only years the Liberty failed to make the playoffs.
Consistency for the Liberty (2003-2005)
2003 marked a transition for the Liberty, 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 at the team's starting point guard spot.
Six games during the 2004 season were moved to
Radio City Music Hall as Madison Square Garden was hosting the
2004 Republican National Convention. 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 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.
A Need for Change (2006-2007)
The Liberty saw a poor 2006 season, winning only 11 games, the worst in franchise history.
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 by winning 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.
Feeling the Success Again (2008-present)
In 2008, the Liberty drafted former
Rutgers shooting guard
Essence Carson and former
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill forward Erlana Larkins, and signed former
University of Utah point guard
Leilani Mitchell during the preseason. Although they had 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.
The Liberty were originally scheduled to be displaced from their usual home court due to renovations at
Madison Square Garden. It has been announced, however, that renovation plans have been delayed and the Liberty will play at the Garden in 2009.
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.
By the
2009 All-Star break, the Liberty had not lived up to the expectations of a team who had advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals the previous year. The Liberty started the season 0-3 and were tied with
Detroit (ironically their Conference Finals opponent) for last place in the Eastern Conference going into the break.
On July 31, 2009, the New York Liberty announced that Pat Coyle was relieved of her duties as head coach and that assistant coach
Anne Donovan was named interim head coach.
Uniforms
- 1997-2002: white with a black line above the shoulders at home, black with a green line on the road.
- 2003-Present: white with teal, blue and orange trim and "Liberty" on the chest in light blue letters at home. Primary color is blue on the road with "New York" on the chest in white letters. The Liberty logo is on the left leg of the shorts.
Season-by-season records
| Season
| Team
| Conference
| Regular season
| Playoff Results
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| W
| L
| PCT
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| New York Liberty
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| 1997
| 1997
| East
| 2nd
| 17
| 11
| .607
| Won
WNBA Semifinals (Phoenix, 1-0)
Lost
WNBA Finals (Houston, 0-1)
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| 1998
| 1998
| East
| 3rd
| 18
| 12
| .600
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|
| 1999
| 1999
| East
| 1st
| 18
| 14
| .563
| Received a bye for the Conference Semifinals
Won
Conference Finals (Charlotte, 2-1)
Lost
WNBA Finals (Houston, 1-2)
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| 2000
| 2000
| East
| 1st
| 20
| 12
| .625
| Won
Conference Semifinals (Washington, 2-0)
Won
Conference Finals (Cleveland, 2-0)
Lost
WNBA Finals (Houston, 0-2)
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| 2001
| 2001
| East
| 2nd
| 21
| 11
| .656
| Won
Conference Semifinals (Miami, 2-1)
Lost
Conference Finals (Charlotte, 1-2)
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| 2002
| 2002
| East
| 1st
| 18
| 14
| .562
| Won
Conference Semifinals (Indiana, 2-1)
Won
Conference Finals (Washington, 2-1)
Lost
WNBA Finals (Los Angeles, 0-2)
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| 2003
| 2003
| East
| 6th
| 16
| 18
| .471
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| 2004
| 2004
| East
| 2nd
| 18
| 16
| .529
| Won
Conference Semifinals (Detroit, 2-1)
Lost
Conference Finals (Connecticut, 0-2)
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| 2005
| 2005
| East
| 3rd
| 18
| 16
| .529
| Lost
Conference Semifinals (Indiana, 0-2)
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| 2006
| 2006
| East
| 5th
| 11
| 23
| .324
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|
| 2007
| 2007
| East
| 4th
| 16
| 18
| .471
| Lost
Conference Semifinals (Detroit, 1–2)
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| 2008
| 2008
| East
| 3rd
| 19
| 15
| .559
| Won
Conference Semifinals (Connecticut, 2–1)
Lost
Conference Finals (Detroit, 1–2)
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| 2009
| 2009
| East
| 7th
| 11
| 16
| .407
| TBD
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| Regular season
| 210
| 181
| .537
| 3 Conference Championships
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| Playoffs
| 21
| 24
| .467
| 0 WNBA Championships
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Players
Current Roster
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Coaches and others
Head Coaches
- Nancy Darsch (1997 - 1998), now an assistant coach with the Seattle Storm
- Richie Adubato (1998 - 2004)
- Pat Coyle (2004 - 2009)
- Anne Donovan (2009 - present)
General Managers
- Carol Blazejowski (Hall of Famer)
Hall of Famers
Teresa Weatherspoon
Honored numbers
Teresa Weatherspoon #11
Former players
- Sherill Baker
- Elena Baranova
- Jessica Davenport, now a member of the Indiana Fever
- Megan Duffy
- Barbara Farris
- Kisha Ford
- Linda Fröhlich
- Becky Hammon, now a member of the San Antonio Silver Stars
- Kym Hampton
- Vickie Johnson, now a member of the San Antonio Silver Stars
- Rebecca Lobo
- Tari Phillips
- Crystal Robinson
- Erin Thorn, now a member of the Chicago Sky
- K.B. Sharp, now a member of the Chicago Sky
- Teresa Weatherspoon
- Tamika Whitmore, now a member of the Connecticut Sun
- Sue Wicks
- Sophia Witherspoon
All-Stars
- 1999
: Kym Hampton, Vickie Johnson, Rebecca Lobo, Teresa Weatherspoon
- 2000
: Sue Wicks, Tari Phillips, Teresa Weatherspoon
- 2001
: Vickie Johnson, Tari Phillips, Teresa Weatherspoon
- 2002
: Tari Phillips, Teresa Weatherspoon
- 2003
: Tari Phillips, Teresa Weatherspoon, Becky Hammon
- 2004
: Becky Hammon
- 2005
: Becky Hammon, Ann Wauters
- 2006
: None
- 2007
: None
- 2008
: No All-Star Game
- 2009
: Shameka Christon
Links
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| Eastern Conference
| Western Conference
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| Atlanta Dream
| Indiana Fever
| Los Angeles Sparks
| Sacramento Monarchs
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| Chicago Sky
| New York Liberty
| Minnesota Lynx
| San Antonio Silver Stars
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| Connecticut Sun
| Washington Mystics
| Phoenix Mercury
| Seattle Storm
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| Detroit Shock
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| Annual events
: Playoffs · Finals · All-Star Game · Draft
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| Other
: All-Decade Team · Arenas · WNBA Career Scoring · Expansion Draft History · Finals broadcasters · List of players · MVP · Rookie of the Year · Seasons · WNBA on ESPN
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