← All Of It with Alison Stewart
All Of It with Alison Stewart
Can The Liberty Repeat Last Year's Success?
00:17:48
The New York Liberty are hoping for another season after winning the championship last year, the first in franchise history
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- [00:00]
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Alison Stewart
This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. Coming up on tomorrow's show, we're gonna learn about the life of a man whose legal name was Paul Rubens, but fans knew him by another name. We'll speak to the director of the new HBO documentary Pee Wee as himself. We'll preview a new show at the New York Botanical Garden that brings to life the flowers painted by Vincent Van Gogh. And we'll hear a live performance from singer songwriter Briston Maroney. That's in the future. Now let's get this hour started with the hottest game in town. Yeah, we're talking about hoops. Hey, Liberty fans, how many of you found yourself reliving this moment sometime in the last few months?
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Commentator
Taken away by phoebus. Off to Stewart. 28 years in the making. The New York Liberty are WNBA champions.
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Alison Stewart
The New York Liberty are the reigning WNBA champions. The women won their first title in franchise history last year season. Over the weekend, the Liberty began the new campaign where they hoped to go back to defend their title. But before the action on the court, fans were retreated to a retreated to a ring ceremony for last year's team. And a championship banner was raised to the rafters of the Barclays Center. The Liberty faced their rivals, the Las Vegas Aces. Led by superstar Asia Wilson. The Liberty won 92, 78. Jackie Powell is a women's basketball reporter who covers the Liberty. She was there on Saturday. She joins me now in studio to preview the new WNBA season. Hey, Jackie.
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Jackie Powell
Hi, Alison. How are you?
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Alison Stewart
Good. Before we get to the game, let's talk about the ring ceremony for last year's team that won the championship. What was the energy like in the room?
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Jackie Powell
It was electric. I know that sounds like a bit of a cliche, but it was very loud. And actually Barclays center has been voted on by GMs around the WNBA as the hardest arena to play in the league because of how loud it can get. And so we definitely felt and heard that noise on Saturday afternoon.
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Alison Stewart
Tell us a little bit more. Who were in the crowd? Who was there?
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Jackie Powell
So when I was watching this ceremony, I was kneeling on the ground to try to take in the sights and sounds. And behind me were Spike Lee and Robin Roberts. And those two were seated, sorry, center court in a spot usually where the owners, Joe and Clara Wu Tsai sit. So they, they have some of the best seats in the house. Spike Lee was in Knicks colors, which was a little confusing just because of the Liberty's history with the Knicks. For those of you all who don't remember, the Liberty were sold by James Dolan and the Madison Square Garden company and then were purchased by Joe and Clara Wuzai. And Robin Roberts was wearing a seafoam green jacket. And the two of them were sort of trying to make sure they were able to capture the ring ceremony with their phones too. Like, Spike Lee was up from his seat trying to get his phone over the cameras so that he could, he could capture what he wanted to.
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Caller/Listener
Just sort of anecdotally, after each player was announced to receive a ring, was there a player that received the most applause?
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Jackie Powell
Yeah, I mean, I'd say there were a couple that stood out. I mean, even head coach Sandy Brondello got a huge round of applause. And she brought out her daughter too, which I think was quite special for her. Her daughter is, I mean, I think maybe around 16. And so that was pretty notable. But then when it came to the players, I'd say it was benijelaney Hamilton who really got this Journey giant applause. And there's a little bit more meaning attached to why that is. Not only is she a fan favorite, but she put her body on the line to help this team win a championship. Last year she was playing through an injured knee and she famously said, you know, I'm ready to go until the wheels fall off. And that's sort of what happened. And unfortunately, she injured that other knee during the off season while she was playing in professional three on three league Unrivaled, which was founded by her teammate Brianna Stewart. And so benijelaney Hamilton won't play at all this season. Yeah, and so, I mean, it was very sad for her, very sad for the fans. And so, I mean, the amount of smiling I saw from Benijah Laney Hamilton, I could just tell that she was in her happy place to be back in the arena and to hear and see all the fans happy to see her.
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Caller/Listener
I wanna talk to you before we get to the previewing of the season. I wanna talk to you about the franchise a little bit because over the last year, every game sold out. If you walk around the Barclays center, you see people on game day wearing that Liberty swag. Ellie the Elephant is a New York celebrity I think I saw her at the Missy Elliott Sierra concert on stage. How has the franchise gone about cultivating this relationship with fans?
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Jackie Powell
That's a great question. I think it. Maybe we should start with Ellie because she is a huge part of that. Obviously, she performs often during halftime and she gave her first halftime performance of the season. She paid homage to Nicki Minaj, as one does. Yes. It is the latest performance in her series of paying homage to different pop cultural people. She once was in a Missy Elliott costume. She also was in, I believe, a Beyonce costume for Ellie. It was called Eliance. So Ellie is really a symbol of bringing the. Not your typical sports fan in to experience the basketball. There are people who don't really like sports that love going to Libert games because of Ellie and how theatrical she is and how welcoming she is and how she's. She's just an entertainer. And then as they take in Ellie, they then start to enjoy what goes on on the court. So I think the elephant is a huge part of that.
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Alison Stewart
And she sort of personifies sort of what it means to be part of the wnya, to have the swag.
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Jackie Powell
Yes, she absolutely personifies the wnba. I couldn't agree more. I think it was. Natasha Cloud actually said to us that very similar to what you just said. Ellie is a symbol of what is the best about the wnba. So when a player says that, you. You know, it's. It's true.
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Alison Stewart
My guest is Jackie Powell, a freelance women's basketball reporter who covers the New York Liberty. Hey, Liberty fans, were you at the ring ceremony or the game on Saturday? What was it like? Are you going to games this season? What are your predictions for the 2025 libert do you think they can repeat? Give us a call or text us at 212-433. WNYC 212-433-9692.
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Caller/Listener
Okay, let's get to that opening game.
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Alison Stewart
The Liberty defeated the Las Vegas Aces, 92 to 78. That's become a bit of a rivalry.
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Caller/Listener
Yeah.
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Jackie Powell
Yes, absolutely. Catch us up. So I think it's worth understanding some of the recent history of the league to understand the Aces. Liberty R. So it began, I would say, in the winter of 2023, when this was right after the Las Vegas Aces won their first championship. They defeated the Connecticut sun in the semifinals. They defeated Brianna Stewart and the Seattle Storm. And that is a very important part of this story because in the winter of 2023, Briana Stewart leaves the Seattle Storm to join the New York Liberty. And in that process, she Brought a very good friend of hers in Jonquil Jones and Courtney Vandersloot. Actually, it was Jonquil Jones who technically was traded first before Stewie and Courtney Vandersloot signed with the Liberty. But this was one of the first moments in the league's history where you had stars really coordinating where they wanted to go. And so the phrase the super team era was born. And you could consider the Las Vegas Aces. They were sort of a super team that was running the league and on top of the league and playing with this modern style of basketball that hadn't completely infiltrated into the wnba. You could also say that the New York Liberty were looking to hire the same coach that the Las Vegas aces hired in 2023 in Becky Hammond. Becky Hammond played her first WNBA game for the New York Liberty, and then she was traded to the San Antonio Stars. The San Antonio Stars then became the Las Vegas Aces. So she was choosing between the the two teams she played with, and she chose the Aces. So that obviously fueled this rivalry as well. You can't talk about this rivalry without talking about Asia Wilson versus Brianna Stewart.
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Caller/Listener
Unbelievable. Asia Wilson got 31 points, 16 rebounds on. I mean, who's tasked with stopping Asia Wilson?
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Jackie Powell
So it is primarily Jonquil Jones. In some sets when Jon Quell or Brianna Stewart is taking a rest. It might be Niara Sabali who infamously stepped up in that Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA Finals. And the fans all chanted Saba Lee, Saba Li. But usually those are the two that are that are guarding Asia.
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Caller/Listener
How the team handle her on Saturday.
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Jackie Powell
So it's really interesting that you ask, because I was at a practice and I was watching the team go through their scout on how to defend the Aces and how to defend Asia. And assistant coach Olaf Lang is the one who usually is tasked with creating the scout. And he kept saying to his players that you have to force Asia Wilson to pass. You have to make her very uncomfortable. You have to double her. You have to force her into it. Because passing the ball is not one of the first things that she is going to do. The first thing she's going to do is score. And so he continued to drill that in to his players. And sure, she scored 31 points, but you don't win a game with just one player.
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Alison Stewart
Right.
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Caller/Listener
That's really interesting.
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Alison Stewart
That's very interesting. Let's talk about Jonquil Jones. She was the 2024 WNBA Finals MVP at this point in the Liberty's lifetime. What does she bring to the Liberty?
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Jackie Powell
Wow. JJ Brings A lot. I think you could talk about on the court what she brings and also off the court what she brings.
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Alison Stewart
Okay, let's talk about. Let's talk about off at the court first.
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Jackie Powell
Sure. I think JJ is very much so in this cloth of. Of resilience. I mean, when she first was traded to the organization, I was like, oh, this is such a perfect fit. Because Jon Quell had been chasing a championship just like the franchise. And so those feelings were mirrored. And, you know, that is sort of the symbol that she represents. I also think Jonquell, she is not afraid to speak on certain social and political issues. I mean, the same goes for Breanna Stewart. But Jon Quell actually did a commencement speech for her alma mater, George Washington University, and she spoke about her journey. She spoke about the different causes that she has spoken up for. She's very open when it comes to lgbtq, mental health awareness and women's health issues as well. So I think Jonquill Jones is also a very uniting force off the court. She is a fan favorite. She was also someone that the crowd at the ring ceremony made sure to really cheer loudly for. And I guess on the court, JJ is a two way force, meaning she's incredibly versatile offensively. And every year she's a defensive player of the year candidate. I mean, she has some of the most difficult assignments. She and Brianna Stewart both have them because they can play both the power forward and the center spots. But what you're going to expect from Jon Kuell is you're going to expect a double double each and every game and you're going to expect a post player who looks to pass. So I just spoke about Asia Wilson and how sometimes she doesn't look to pass Jonquill Jones and is often looking to pass. And sometimes you see her with these very entertaining behind the back passes. They're so good. They're so much fun. So expect more of those this season.
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Caller/Listener
We're talking with Jackie Powell. She covers women's basketball for. She covers Liberty, I should say. I did want to ask a little bit about other teams if I can real quick.
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Jackie Powell
Sure.
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Caller/Listener
All right, let's talk about the Minnesota Lynx. They look strong already.
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Jackie Powell
They do.
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Caller/Listener
2 0. Are they favorites this year? What do you think?
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Jackie Powell
Well, so that general manager survey that I brought up earlier, the GMs of the league, 60% of them believe that the Lynx are going to win the title this year just because of that idea of how they lost in the 2024 WNBA Finals. You know, right at the end on Brianna Stewart's free froze, although, you know, the, the overtime period, they could have grabbed the game back as well. So they clearly have a chip on their shoulder. And Nafisa Collier, their star, she is looking for her first WNBA championship. So the Lynx are obviously one of the main contenders in the league. My question about the Lynx is, do they have enough versatile depth to counter the Liberties? Because as we saw against the Las Vegas Aces, the Liberty have a lot of meaningful depth pieces. And so coming off the bench, the Liberty have Maureen Johannes, they have Niar Sabali, they have Kennedy Burke, they have Rebecca Gardner. Those are four players or four players that could easily be starters in the wnba. So the question about the links is, do they have enough depth? They did bring Jessica shepherd back and they got Carly Samuelson in a trade, but they have been without their main sharpshooter. And Kayla McBride, she has been away from the team, I mean, since training camp began, because she's going through a personal issue that has not really been spoken about yet. So I guess I just question, do the Lynx have enough depth and do they have enough size?
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Caller/Listener
The Liberty played their second game of the season tomorrow night away against the Chicago Sky. What are you going to be looking for?
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Jackie Powell
So when I was in practice yesterday, the reporters, we were all talking to Jonquil Jones about this matchup against the Sky. And in years past, the sky have rattled the Liberty just because they have these two very aggressive and physical post players in Angel Re, who I'm sure many of you know, and Camilla Cardoso. And so Jonquill has struggled in the past dealing with their physicality. And so she sort of said to us, she said, you know, I am not going into this complacent. I know how physical they can play, especially since this Chicago team got blown out in their first game on Saturday against the Fever. So I think the idea around the team right now is they know that Chicago is going to put their best foot forward against the Liberty. Also, folks always say that the defending champions are always the hunted. So I expect this to be a very physical matchup.
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Caller/Listener
Jackie Powell, thanks for all of your reporting.
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Jackie Powell
Thank you for having me.
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