# 2022 New York Liberty season

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 | Germany | Oregon |
| 3 | 29 | Sika Koné | Mali | CB Islas Canarias (Spain) |

### Trades and Roster Changes

| Date | Transaction |
| 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 |
| February 4, 2022 | 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 |
| June 8, 2022 | Waived Megan Walker |
| June 8, 2022 | Signed Marine Johannès |
| June 8, 2022 | 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. | Starter | Bench |
| C | Stefanie Dolson | Han Xu |
| PF | Natasha Howard | Michaela Onyenwere |
| SF | Betnijah Laney | Rebecca Allen Jocelyn Willoughby |
| SG | Sabrina Ionescu | Marine Johannès DiDi Richards |
| PG | Crystal Dangerfield | Sami Whitcomb |

## Schedule
### Preseason

2022 pre-season game log :
April: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
April 30
Washington
Canceled
Barclays Center
0–0 :
2022 pre-season schedule :

### Regular Season

2022 game log Total: 16–20 (Home: 9–9; Road: 7–11) :
May: 1–7 (Home: 1–3; Road: 0–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 7
Connecticut
W 81–79
Sabrina Ionescu (25)
Natasha Howard (6)
Sabrina Ionescu (6)
Barclays Center 6,829
1–0
2
May 11
@ Chicago
L 50–83
Han Xu (10)
Dolson Ionescu (6)
Betnijah Laney (6)
Wintrust Arena 4,935
1–1
3
May 13
Indiana
L 86–92 (OT)
Sabrina Ionescu (31)
Natasha Howard (9)
Sabrina Ionescu (7)
Barclays Center 3,289
1–2
4
May 15
Dallas
L 71–81
Sabrina Ionescu (17)
Natasha Howard (8)
Sabrina Ionescu (6)
Barclays Center 3,095
1–3
5
May 17
Connecticut
L 65–92
Betnijah Laney (16)
Stefanie Dolson (7)
Sabrina Ionescu (4)
Barclays Center 3,054
1–4
6
May 24
@ Minnesota
L 78–84
Natasha Howard (23)
Sabrina Ionescu (9)
Sami Whitcomb (9)
Target Center 6,104
1–5
7
May 27
@ Seattle
L 71–79
Natasha Howard (19)
Natasha Howard (9)
Sami Whitcomb (8)
Climate Pledge Arena 10,001
1–6
8
May 29
@ Seattle
L 61–92
Han Xu (13)
Han Xu (8)
Sabrina Ionescu (4)
Climate Pledge Arena 10,228
1–7 :
June
: 7–4 (Home: 3–4; Road: 4–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
9
June 1
Indiana
W 87–74
Sabrina Ionescu (23)
Stefanie Dolson (8)
Stefanie Dolson (7)
Barclays Center 4,079
2–7
10
June 3
@ Washington
W 74–70
Sabrina Ionescu (24)
Stefanie Dolson (8)
Crystal Dangerfield (4)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 3,857
3–7
11
June 5
Minnesota
L 77–84
Sabrina Ionescu (31)
Michaela Onyenwere (6)
Sabrina Ionescu (7)
Barclays Center 4,119
3–8
12
June 7
Minnesota
W 88–69
Sabrina Ionescu (26)
Sabrina Ionescu (8)
Sabrina Ionescu (8)
Barclays Center 3,196
4–8
13
June 10
@ Indiana
W 97–83
Natasha Howard (25)
Natasha Howard (10)
Sabrina Ionescu (7)
Indiana Farmers Coliseum 1,393
5–8
14
June 12
Chicago
L 86–88
Sabrina Ionescu (27)
Sabrina Ionescu (13)
Sabrina Ionescu (12)
Barclays Center 4,810
5–9
15
June 16
Washington
W 77–65
Natasha Howard (27)
Natasha Howard (9)
Sabrina Ionescu (9)
Barclays Center 4,168
6–9
16
June 19
Seattle
L 72–81
Marine Johannès (23)
Natasha Howard (11)
Sabrina Ionescu (10)
Barclays Center 6,859
6–10
17
June 22
@ Connecticut
W 81–77
Stefanie Dolson (16)
Sabrina Ionescu (11)
Sabrina Ionescu (6)
Mohegan Sun 4,652
7–10
18
June 24
@ Atlanta
W 89–77
Sabrina Ionescu (21)
Natasha Howard (10)
Sabrina Ionescu (8)
Gateway Center Arena 2,697
8–10
19
June 30
Atlanta
L 81–92 (OT)
Stefanie Dolson (20)
Sabrina Ionescu (13)
Sabrina Ionescu (7)
Barclays Center 6,161
8–11 :
July
: 3–7 (Home: 2–2; Road: 1–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
20
July 3
@ Los Angeles
L 74–84
Marine Johannès (17)
Sabrina Ionescu (9)
Sabrina Ionescu (8)
Crypto.com Arena 5,436
8–12
21
July 6
@ Las Vegas
W 116–107
Sabrina Ionescu (31)
Sabrina Ionescu (13)
Sabrina Ionescu (10)
Michelob Ultra Arena 8,405
9–12
22
July 7
@ Phoenix
L 81–84
Sabrina Ionescu (22)
Sabrina Ionescu (10)
Marine Johannès (6)
Footprint Center 6,158
9–13
23
July 12
Las Vegas
L 101–107
Sabrina Ionescu (27)
Natasha Howard (11)
Ionescu Johannès (5)
Barclays Center 5,201
9–14
24
July 14
Las Vegas
L 74–108
Natasha Howard (19)
Natasha Howard (9)
Sabrina Ionescu (6)
Barclays Center 9,896
9–15
25
July 19
@ Connecticut
L 63–82
Sabrina Ionescu (13)
Stefanie Dolson (6)
Sabrina Ionescu (4)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,288
9–16
26
July 21
@ Washington
L 69–78
Natasha Howard (17)
Natasha Howard (10)
Crystal Dangerfield (5)
Capital One Arena 7,431
9–17
27
July 23
Chicago
W 83–80
Sabrina Ionescu (17)
Natasha Howard (10)
Sabrina Ionescu (9)
Barclays Center 6,926
10–17
28
July 29
@ Chicago
L 81–89
Sabrina Ionescu (16)
Natasha Howard (10)
Sabrina Ionescu (6)
Wintrust Arena 6,924
10–18
29
July 31
Phoenix
W 89–69
Natasha Howard (23)
Natasha Howard (12)
Sabrina Ionescu (16)
Barclays Center 6,433
11–18 :
August
: 5–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 2–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
30
August 2
Los Angeles
W 102–73
Sabrina Ionescu (31)
Natasha Howard (11)
Han Xu (8)
Barclays Center 4,891
12–18
31
August 3
Los Angeles
W 64–61
Sabrina Ionescu (20)
Dolson Ionescu (8)
Sabrina Ionescu (6)
Barclays Center 5,315
13–18
32
August 6
@ Phoenix
L 62–76
Sabrina Ionescu (20)
Stefanie Dolson (7)
Sabrina Ionescu (5)
Footprint Center 11,724
13–19
33
August 8
@ Dallas
L 77–86
Sabrina Ionescu (32)
Sabrina Ionescu (7)
Sabrina Ionescu (4)
College Park Center 3,036
13–20
34
August 10
@ Dallas
W 91–73
Sami Whitcomb (15)
Sabrina Ionescu (9)
Sabrina Ionescu (7)
College Park Center 3,795
14–20
35
August 12
@ Atlanta
W 80–70
Crystal Dangerfield (18)
Natasha Howard (12)
Dangerfield Ionescu (6)
Gateway Center Arena 3,138
15–20
36
August 14
Atlanta
W 87–83
N. Howard Johannes (18)
Stefanie Dolson (12)
Sabrina Ionescu (7)
Barclays Center 7,561
16–20 :
2022 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2022 playoff game log :
First round vs. Chicago Sky Lost Series: 1–2
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
August 17
@ Chicago
W 98–91
N. Howard Ionescu (22)
Dolson N. Howard Ionescu (7)
Marine Johannès (7)
Wintrust Arena 7,524
1–0
2
August 20
@ Chicago
L 62–100
Onyenwere Xu (10)
Ionescu Xu (5)
Dolson Ionescu Laney Whitcomb (3)
Wintrust Arena 7,732
1–1
3
August 23
Chicago
L 72–90
Betnijah Laney (15)
Natasha Howard (11)
Ionescu Johannès (4)
Barclays Center 7,837
1–2 :
2022 playoff schedule :

## Standings

| # | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
| 1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 13–5 | 13–5 | 9–1 |
| 2 | x – Chicago Sky | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 14–4 | 12–6 | 9–1 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 25 | 11 | .694 | 1.0 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 5–5 |
| 4 | x – Seattle Storm | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–4 |
| 5 | x – Washington Mystics | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 6 | x – Dallas Wings | 18 | 18 | .500 | 8.0 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 7 | x – New York Liberty | 16 | 20 | .444 | 10.0 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–4 |
| 8 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 15 | 21 | .417 | 11.0 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 3–7 |
| 9 | e – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–6 |
| 10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 11 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 13 | 23 | .361 | 13.0 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 12 | e – Indiana Fever | 5 | 31 | .139 | 21.0 | 2–16 | 3–15 | 2–16 | 2–8 |
Notes
    (#) – League Standing
    x – Clinched playoff berth
    e – Eliminated from playoff contention
    Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

## Playoffs

| Round One: Best-of-3 | Round One: Best-of-3 | Round One: Best-of-3 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 |
| 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 2 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Seattle Storm | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Seattle Storm | 2 | 4 | Seattle Storm | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Washington Mystics | 0 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Washington Mystics | 0 | | | | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 1 |
| 2 | Chicago Sky | 2 | | | | | | | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 1 |
| 7 | New York Liberty | 1 | | | | | | |
| 7 | New York Liberty | 1 | 2 | Chicago Sky | 2 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 3 | | | |
| 3 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 3 | | | |
| 6 | Dallas Wings | 1 | | | | | | |
Bold Series winner

## 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 |
| Sabrina Ionescu | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | June 13 |
| Sabrina Ionescu | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | July 8 |
| Sabrina Ionescu | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | August 8 |
| Sabrina Ionescu | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | August 15 |
| Sabrina Ionescu | WNBA All-Star Starter | June 22 |
| Sabrina Ionescu | Eastern Conference Player of the Month - June | July 5 |
| Sabrina Ionescu | Eastern Conference Player of the Month - August | August 16 |
| Sabrina Ionescu | All-WNBA Second Team | September 15 |
| Natasha Howard | WNBA All-Star Selection | June 28 |