We are seven days away from tip-off. The 2020 New York Liberty and the Seattle Storm will be kicking off the WNBA season on July 25th at noon EST; they will be the first teams to play in the triple-header season opener in the bubble at IMG Academy. The excitement from fans and analysis is constantly rising the closer we get to that day.
Upcoming Changes
The New York Liberty struggled in the 2019 season. The Liberty ranked 5th out of 6 teams in the Eastern Conference; the Liberty finished 11th overall by the end of the 2019 season. They finished the season with 10 wins and 24 losses. However, during the draft, they picked up potential answers to their problems. With the number one pick in the 2020 WNBA draft, the New York Liberty select Sabrina Ionescu from the University of Oregon.
2020 Draft
Sabrina Ionescu had a fantastic college career that made her the first overall pick. Ionescu is the first player in NCAA history with over 2,000 career points, 2,562 to be exact, she got over 1,000 career rebounds (1,040), and over 1,000 career assists (1,091). Sabrina is not just the first woman to hit this milestone, shes the first college player ever to achieve such an accomplishment. Ionescu also ranks No.1 in NCAA with 26 career triple-doubles. Ionescu is a baller that Brooklyn fans can not wait to see in action.
The Arrival of Change
The New York Liberty needs to make improvements on defense this season. In 2019, the Liberty ranked 12th in the league in defense. The Liberty got a new head coach named Walt Hopkins, he has an impressive educational background in coaching. Hopkins received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Nevada-Reno. He received a master’s degree from both Harvard and UC Berkeley. He focused his studies on Psychology of coaching in the Social, Developmental, and Educational settings. Hopkins plus the talented women from the draft and the ones that are on the team, give Liberty fans hope for a better season.
