2021 New York Liberty season

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2021 New York Liberty season
Head Coach Walt Hopkins
Arena Barclays Center
Attendance 1,874 per game
Results
Record 12–20
(.375)
Place 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff Finish 8th seed, Lost in the First Round to Phoenix Mercury
Team Leaders
Points Betnijah Laney – 16.8 ppg
Rebounds Natasha Howard – 7.2 rpg
Assists Sabrina Ionescu – 6.1 apg
Media
Television YES
New York Liberty seasons
< 2020 2022 >

The 2021 New York Liberty season was the 25th season for the New York Liberty franchise of the WNBA. The Liberty opened the regular season on May 14, 2021 versus the Indiana Fever.[1]

The Liberty started the season strong by winning their first three games and only losing two of their seven games in May. However, June turned into a much worse month for the team as wins were book-ended by two losses. The team finished 3–7 in June. Things looked to be turning around in July as the Liberty won their first two games, but they lost their last two games of the month to take a 10–11 overall record into the Olympic break. The post-Olympic break stretch of the season proved difficult for the Liberty. They won their second game out of the break after losing their first, but then went on an eight game losing streak that stretched into September. Going into the last game of the season, the Liberty were part of a three way tie for the eighth, and final playoff seed. The Liberty defeated Washington and Los Angeles lost their final game, so the Liberty won the tiebreaker and qualified for the playoffs as the eighth seed with a final record of 12–20.

As the eighth seed, the Liberty played the fifth seeded Phoenix Mercury in Phoenix in the First Round. The game was more competitive than many expected and it came down to the wire. However, the Liberty were edged out 82–83 and their season came to an end.

Transactions

WNBA draft

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See also: 2021 WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 6 Michaela Onyenwere  United States UCLA
2 17 DiDi Richards  United States Baylor
3 25 Valerie Higgins  United States Pacific
3 29 Marine Fauthoux  France ASVEL Féminin (France)

Trades/Roster Changes

Date Details
September 13, 2020 Signed C Kiah Stokes to a Contract Extension[2]
January 2, 2021 Extended Qualifying Offers to F Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, G Paris Kea, and F Joyner Holmes[3]
January 3, 2021 Exercised Team Options on G Asia Durr and C Han Xu[4]
February 2, 2021 Signed G/F Betnijah Laney[5]
Signed F Joyner Holmes to a Training Camp Contract[6]
February 10, 2021 Traded G Kia Nurse and F Megan Walker to Phoenix in exchange for the 6th Overall Pick in the 2021 Draft and the Mercury's 1st Round Pick in 2022.[7]
Traded the 1st Overall Pick in the 2021 Draft, a 2nd Round Pick in 2022 (via trade with Phoenix), and New York's own 2022 2nd Round Pick to Seattle in exchange for F Natasha Howard[7]
Traded the rights to F Stephanie Talbot to Seattle in exchange for G Sami Whitcomb[7]
April 14, 2021 Signed F Asia Taylor to a Training Camp Contract[8]
April 16, 2021 Full Season Suspend C Han Xu due to Overseas Commitments[9]
April 19, 2021 Signed F Michaela Onyenwere, G Valerie Higgins, and G DiDi Richards to Rookie Scale Contracts[10]
April 24, 2021 Signed F Janelle Bailey to a Rookie Scale Contract[11]
April 26, 2021 Hired Jacki Gemelos as an Assistant Coach[12]
Signed G Rebecca Allen[13]
May 7, 2021 Waived F Janelle Bailey[14]
May 11, 2021 Waived G Valerie Higgins[15]
May 12, 2021 Temporarily Suspend G Rebecca Allen, F Natasha Howard, and C Kiah Stokes due to Overseas Commitments[16]
Full Season Suspend G Asia Durr
Waive F Joyner Holmes[17]
May 13, 2021 Waive F Asia Taylor and G Jasmine Bailey[18]
Full Season Suspend G Marine Johannès due to Overseas Commitments
May 14, 2021 Signed F Reshanda Gray to a Hardship Contract[19]
Signed F Joyner Holmes to a Hardship Contract[20]
May 15, 2021 Activate G Rebecca Allen from Temporary Suspension List
Released F Joyner Holmes from the Hardship Contract[21]
May 18, 2021 Activate C Kiah Stokes from Temporary Suspension List
Released F Reshanda Gray from the Hardship Contract[22]
May 20, 2021 Waived G Layshia Clarendon[23]
May 22, 2021 Activate F Natasha Howard from Temporary Suspension List[24]
June 6, 2021 Suspend C Kiah Stokes due to Overseas Commitments[25]
June 7, 2021 Signed F Reshanda Gray to a Hardship Contract[26]
June 22, 2021 Release F Reshanda Gray to a Hardship Contract[26]
Activate C Kiah Stokes from Temporary Suspension
June 30, 2021 Waived C Kiah Stokes[27]
July 1, 2021 Signed F Reshanda Gray[28]

Roster

2021 New York Liberty roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From
G/F 9 Australia Allen, Rebecca 6' 2" (1.88m) 162 lb (73kg) 1992-11-06 Australia 5
F 1 United States Gray, Reshanda 6' 2" (1.88m) 192 lb (87kg) 1993-06-01 California 4
F 6 United States Howard, Natasha 6' 2" (1.88m) 165 lb (75kg) 1991-09-02 Florida State 7
G 20 United States Ionescu, Sabrina 5' 11" (1.8m) 165 lb (75kg) 1997-12-06 Oregon 1
G 4 United States Jones, Jazmine 6' 0" (1.83m) 160 lb (73kg) 1996-10-15 Louisville 1
G/F 44 United States Laney, Betnijah 6' 0" (1.83m) 166 lb (75kg) 1993-10-29 Rutgers 5
F 0 United States Odom, Leaonna 6' 2" (1.88m) 168 lb (76kg) 1998-03-26 Duke 1
F 12 United States Onyenwere, Michaela 6' 0" (1.83m) 178 lb (81kg) 1999-08-10 UCLA R
G/F 2 United States Richards, DiDi 6' 2" (1.88m) 164 lb (74kg) 1999-02-08 Baylor R
C 24 United States Shook, Kylee 6' 5" (1.96m) 200 lb (91kg) 1998-03-18 Louisville 1
G 32 Australia Whitcomb, Sami 5' 10" (1.78m) 145 lb (66kg) 1988-07-20 Washington 4
G/F 13 United States Willoughby, Jocelyn Injured 6' 0" (1.83m) 180 lb (82kg) 1998-03-25 Virginia R
Head coach
United States Walt Hopkins (Nevada)
Assistant coaches
United States Shelley Patterson (Washington State)
United States Dustin Gray (Arizona State)
United States Jacki Gemelos (Southern California)



Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Game log

Preseason

2021 pre-season game log
2021 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2021 game log
2021 season schedule

Playoffs

2021 playoff game log
First round
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 September 23 @ Phoenix 82–83 Betnijah Laney (25) Natasha Howard (10) Sabrina Ionescu (11) Grand Canyon University Arena
5,827		 0–1
2021 playoff schedule

Standings

# Team W L PCT GB Conf. Home Road Cup
1 x – Connecticut Sun 26 6 .813 – 12–3 15–1 11–5 9–1
2 x – Las Vegas Aces 24 8 .750 2 11–4 13–3 11–5 6–4
3 x – Minnesota Lynx 22 10 .688 4 10–5 13–3 9–7 7–3
4 x – Seattle Storm 21 11 .656 5 9–6 11–5 10–6 8–2
5 x – Phoenix Mercury 19 13 .594 7 6–9 7–9 12–4 5–5
6 x – Chicago Sky 16 16 .500 10 10–5 6–10 10–6 6–4
7 x – Dallas Wings 14 18 .438 12 7–8 7–9 7–9 3–7
8 x – New York Liberty 12 20 .375 14 6–9 7–9 5–11 5–5
9 e – Washington Mystics 12 20 .375 14 7–8 8–8 4–12 4–6
10 e – Los Angeles Sparks 12 20 .375 14 2–13 8–8 4–12 1–9
11 e – Atlanta Dream 8 24 .250 18 6–9 4–12 4–12 4–6
12 e – Indiana Fever 6 26 .188 20 4–11 4–12 2–14 2–8

Notes

(#) – League Standing
x – Clinched playoff berth
e – Eliminated from playoff contention
Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings


Playoffs

Template:8TeamBracket-StepladderToSF Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

Awards and honors

Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
Sabrina Ionescu Eastern Conference Player of the Week May 24 [29]
Betnijah Laney June 1 [30]
Michaela Onyenwere WNBA Rookie of the Month - May June 2 [31]
Walt Hopkins WNBA Coach of the Month - May June 2 [32]
Michaela Onyenwere WNBA Rookie of the Month - June July 1 [33]
Betnijah Laney WNBA All-Star Selection June 30 [34]
Michaela Onyenwere WNBA Rookie of the Month - August September 2 [35]
Natasha Howard Eastern Conference Player of the Week September 20 [36]
Michaela Onyenwere WNBA Rookie of the Month - September September 22 [37]
WNBA Rookie of the Year October 5 [38]
DiDi Richards WNBA All-Rookie Team October 5 [39]
Michaela Onyenwere

Statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Source:[40]

Regular Season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Betnijah Laney 32 32 33.7 45.1 31.2 78.7 4.1 5.2 0.7 0.1 16.8
Natasha Howard 13 13 27.5 49.4 33.3 77.4 7.2 1.7 1.3 0.5 16.2
Sami Whitcomb 30 28 28.1 47.3 42.5 81.8 5.0 2.7 1.0 0.3 11.7
Sabrina Ionescu 30 26 30.0 37.9 32.5 91.1 5.7 6.1 0.6 0.5 11.7
Rebecca Allen 25 13 24.2 34.3 38.1 89.2 3.7 1.1 1.6 1.2 9.2
Michaela Onyenwere 32 29 22.5 39.9 32.7 83.6 2.9 0.6 0.4 0.3 8.6
Reshanda Gray 15 0 14.1 53.1 22.2 69.2 3.5 0.3 0.3 0.3 5.9
Jazmine Jones 27 0 16.6 35.6 38.3 76.1 2.4 1.1 0.5 0.4 5.9
Kylee Shook 30 19 18.9 46.7 39.3 80.0 4.0 1.4 0.3 0.5 5.7
Leaonna Odom 18 0 11.5 46.7 29.4 75.0 1.2 0.4 0.3 0.3 3.1
DiDi Richards 31 0 11.2 42.2 45.5 60.0 1.1 0.8 0.5 0.2 2.3
Jocelyn Willoughby 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

References

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External links

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