Every time you feel the New York Liberty are back, they show that they aren’t. After a five-game winning run in July, they lost four on the trot. After 3 wins over the bottom feeders of the league, they dipped against the league leaders, in Minnesota Lynx. They have just 1 win in their last 4, forcing the fans to worry about this superteam. The reason for this patchy form? The loss of Breanna Stewart to a bone bruise in her knee. 

Brondello had added Emma Meeseman to fuel a postseason push. Even that doesn’t seem enough to offset the gargantuan loss that is Stewart. It’s not the first time the defending champions have lost a key starter. Jonquel Jones missed around a month with her ankle injury, and they struggled to keep up without her. Their performance in the paint was just getting better when they lost their second-best rebounder. With the postseason within touching distance, Stewart finally has a return date. 

Sandy Brondello said at their last practice before their Minnesota game, “Yeah, she (Stewart) looked good. We didn’t really go live, so we’ll keep building her up these next few days. She feels good, she looks good. So hopefully we can get her back [soon].” Stewart herself set August 27 as he comeback date after she fully participated in their practice, and Brondello agreed. This would mean that she will be available for their August 28 game against the Washington Mystics. And the crucial final five regular-season games, when they will aim to solidify the No.2 seed for the playoffs. 

Currently, they stand at a 21-13 record after that loss against clear league leaders Minnesota in their last game, behind the Atlanta Dream. Fourth-place Phoenix Mercury aren’t too far behind either, leaving Brondello’s team still in doubt, despite having a team on paper that should comfortably top the table. This criticism has been around this team throughout the season, but Natasha Cloud recently fired back with confidence, declaring the team will be just fine.

“It’s asinine to have the roster that we’ve had all season long and to receive the criticism that we have,” Cloud said. “We still have enough in this locker room. But if you take any major piece out of any other team, they’re losing games. So I think there needs to be a little bit of grace and patience.”

There is certainly a lot of expectation on this Liberty side, but it’s the bar they have set. The Liberty’s 2025 roster is, arguably, even better than the 2023 and 2024 variants that reached consecutive finals while winning one of them. They started the season showing just that. Liberty won all of their first 9 games, looking as dominant as ever. It took a superhuman performance from Caitlin Clark to bring down that run, and they haven’t been the same since. With injuries plaguing them, they have had to adapt, and Brondello explained the positives of the Stewart injury. 

Sandy Brondello Highlights Silver Linings in Stewart’s Injury Absence

Ever since Stewart got injured on July 26, the Liberty have gone 4-6. With unexpected losses against the likes of the Connecticut Sun and the Los Angeles Sparks, the team has been feeling the heat. It was even worse when they did not have Emma Meesseman on the roster, as they had lost all three games immediately after Stewart’s injury, which prompted them to bring in some cavalry. 

However, even she couldn’t completely cover for Stewart, and Brondello acknowledged her loss, saying, “It’s one of your best players. There are areas where we struggle too, without Stewie, with the ability to put the ball in the hands and her ability to switch and rotate and rebound, but I think we’ve grown.” 

They have been the worst team in the league when it comes to second-chance points in the last 10 games. Liberty has also struggled to score from the paint, scoring only 35.2 points since Stewart’s injury. With 32 rebounds per game in that period, they are struggling to crash the boards at a consistent rate. However, Brondello also pointed to the positives when it comes to Stewart’s absence.

“It allowed us to integrate Emma (Meesseman). I think that was one positive out of it, if you’re going to see anything, a positive in an injury. I think Marine (Johannes) has got more comfortable and is playing really good defense, but everyone’s had their moments, but we’ve got to have more moments.” She explained. Johannes’ numbers are up since that injury as she is averaging 7.4 points and 2.0 assists per game, up from her 5 points per game range. 

Meesseemen has done exactly the things Liberty wanted her to. She has slipped in as one of their best scorers at 15.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. She provided the immediate medicine for their bruise, but it’s clear that they still need Stewart back to genuinely contend for the title. With a 0-3 record against the Lynx so far, it’s clear the Liberty are still behind the league leaders.