New York Liberty Open 2014 WNBA Season
The first aspect of the New York Liberty that needs to be recognized is that they have never won a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Championship.
The Liberty is one of the original eight teams in the WNBA, playing their first league game, on June 21, 1997, against the Los Angeles Sparks. On Friday, May16, the Liberty kicked-off their 18th season in the WNBA, by defeating the Connecticut Sun, 75-54, at The Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Liberty has reached the WNBA Playoffs 12 times, while advancing to the WNBA Finals four times in the past 17 years but they have never worn the Championship crown of the WNBA.
The Liberty seeks to rectify their Championship-less history by last season hiring three-time WNBA Champion Head Coach Bill Laimbeer. Laimbeer, a legend post-player with the NBA “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons, won three WNBA Championships (2003, 2006 and 2008) while leading the Detroit Shock. He also won Coach of the Year in 2003.
In fact, before the Liberty, Laimbeer during his eight seasons (2002-2009) coaching in the WNBA, all with the Shock, has made six straight playoff appearances, while also reaching the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals twice (2004 and ’05) and the WNBA Finals in 2007. Therefore, concluding that Laimbeer is the “Phil Jackson” of the WNBA.
Of course, NY Liberty Owner James Dolan and his Madison Square Garden Company have great expectations for the Liberty’s future with Laimbeer, as their General Manager and Head Coach. But for certain what is expected of Laimbeer’s leadership is to attain that elusive WNBA Championship.
The Liberty finished the 2013 season with an 11-23 record and missed the WNBA Playoffs, as Laimbeer struggled with an injury plagued team that saw starting guard Essence Carson with her 17 points per game average, miss all but four games with a torn ACL.
Forward Plenette Pierson also missed crucial playing time last season and star guard Cappie Pondexter missed the final three games of the season. However, what may have derailed Laimbeer’s plan last season, more than anything else, was when he had to release free agent signing forward Cheryl Ford, after she injured her knee, while playing only one preseason game for the Liberty.
Nonetheless, Laimbeer was only in his first season at the helm of the Liberty in 2013 and he proved on WNBA Draft Day 2014, he was only warming-up to that challenge of a Championship quest.
The Liberty drafted Alyssa Thomas from the University of Maryland in the first round fourth overall in the 2014 WNBA Draft. Laimbeer traded away the rights to Thomas, a three-time Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Year, to the Connecticut Sun with forward Kelsey Bone and their 2015 first round pick for 2012 WNBA MVP and the Number overall pick in 2010, center Tina Charles.
“It became clear about two weeks before the WNBA Draft, that this really might happen, we might get Tina Charles,” explained Laimbeer. “I felt bad for Kelsey Bone because she wanted to play in New York but this is still a business at times, so we knew going into the Draft that this was a fairly done deal,” stated Laimbeer.
Charles entering her fifth season in the WNBA was Rookie of the Year in 2010, after having the best rookie season in WNBA history. Charles, at 25 years old, is in the prime of her professional basketball career, while maintaining a remarkable career-average of 17 points and 11 rebounds per game. She averaged a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds last season for the Sun.
Charles also has led the league in rebounding three straight seasons (2010-‘12) which will boost the Liberty’s already proficient rebounding team, which led the WNBA last season averaging 37.5 rebounds per game.” It is a blessing to be here being born and raised in New York. I have always been a big fan of the Knicks and Liberty,” stated Charles, who graduated from Christ the King High School in Queens.” It is breathtaking that I am here and surreal. Sometimes, when I am in the Liberty locker room, I look at the logo on the floor and cannot believe that I am here,” depicted Charles.
The Liberty returned to Madison Square Garden, on Saturday, May 17, after a three-year hiatus, playing in the Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey, while renovations were completed during the summer months to the newly transformed Madison Square Garden.
The Ladies of Liberty were greeted by 9,131 screaming fans in their first game back home in three years in the “World’s Most Famous Arena.” They lost their 2014 Home Opener to the Connecticut Sun, 79-65, but were surely happy to be back home in New York. “It feels awesome to be back at the Garden. The Garden was always the ‘World’s Most Famous Arena’ now it is the World’s Most State of the Art Arena,” stated Carson, who had 13 points and six rebounds in the game
In the Liberty Home Opener loss to the Sun, it must be considered that star guard Cappie Pondexter had just returned from playing in Turkey, on Media Day, May 13. Pondexter had only one practice with her newly formed team, including Charles and guard Anna Cruz, before their season opener in Connecticut, on Friday, May 16.
As the 2014 WNBA season progresses, look for the Liberty, led by Laimbeer, to become acclimated with one another on the court and Pondexter, Charles and Carson becoming a dominate trio in the WNBA.
“We have a special group, we work really hard and we defend well. I think if we continue to grow and remain positive and remember what happen last year (not making the playoffs) we have a great chance to get where we want to be this season,” projected Pondexter.
