The New York Liberty are betting that continuity in the locker room can overcome disruption on the sidelines. While the team has brought back its Big Three, it is also facing the heat of a coaching transition from Sandy Brondello to Chris DeMarco. But amid this, six-year Liberty veteran Sabrina Ionescu is resting her faith on the team’s offensive strength, which she feels is far from trivial.

Speaking in an interview during Liberty training camp, Ionescu shed light on Liberty’s versatility on offense, citing players like herself, Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Satou Sabally. “I think it’s just understanding that the game has evolved so much,” she said. Our post especially has guard-like skills. Like both Stewie and JJ, they shoot really well; they can handle the ball. We can stretch them, and guards can go inside.

“I think it’s kind of not traditional in that sense of finding different ways to attack mismatches and give the teams a different kind of look offensively,” she added further. “We are going to continue to do that, especially with the versatility we have on the offensive end. Me and Satou, coming at 6’4, who can guard and post up, like it’s just so much variation that we can have offensively. It’s a nice part of the team we have. It’s not just one-dimensional.”

With Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, the frontcourt of the New York Liberty has been stacked for all these years now. Despite being the major rim protectors of the team, both Stewart and Jones have been able to produce a substantial offensive output. For instance, last year, Stewart led the team in scoring with 18+ points per game while also leading in blocks and steals (1.4 in both categories).

Jones also contributed with over 13 points in the season while also doing most of the heavy lifting on the glass (8.6 rebounds per game). With such post players on the team, the Liberty averaged over 84 points per game in 2025. On top of that, the Liberty has been able to sign Satou Sabally in free agency.

It adds another dynamic to the team’s frontcourt, courtesy of the volume shooting and scoring prowess she brings to the table (15.9 points per game in her career). As a result, that Liberty roster looks even more star-studded. Subsequently, this frontcourt trio will be backed by none other than Ionescu. The Liberty guard has clearly stated in the press conference that her role will revolve around playmaking and creating space for the other offensive cogs on her team.

“For me, it is important to understand that I am a great passer,” she said. “I can initiate offense. And I can get off the ball, use gravity to create for my teammates, and shoot. Over the course of her career, Ionescu has proved time and again that she fits this role perfectly, and her career stats just add weight to it. 16.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists are some of the numbers that define the class she brings on an individual note to the team’s offensive scheme.

Furthermore, it gives the Liberty leverage to carry the offense from both the paint as well as the perimeter with dynamic guards like Ionescu herself.

It’s quite clear that the Liberty has a varied arsenal, making it an offensive powerhouse while also curating a substantial defensive lineup with Jones and Stewart. Now, it will clearly be upon head coach DeMarco to mould it in his own way to make it work. Having worked and won NBA titles as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors, it will be interesting to see how DeMarco approaches it.

In an interview back in December, DeMarco hinted that he’s pretty “collaborative” and that his team will be a “player-driven team.” So, in that regard, he won’t have any problems, given there are so many top-notch veterans like Stewart and Ionescu on the Liberty roster, who can dictate the game in their own way.

Also, DeMarco has clearly stated that he will bank on every bit of offensive and defensive prowess his players have. “We have a lot of players who can do different things, offensively and defensively, and we’re really, really going to pour into that,” he said.

Courtesy of this stacked roster featuring an array of superstars, the WNBA has put the Liberty in second place in the power rankings, just behind the Las Vegas Aces.

Furthermore, having retained all of the major core players, the Liberty has already backed upon  sheer consistency. Of course, it’s a major advantage going for them, especially considering the performances the core had together in the last few years, including winning the 2024 WNBA title.

It underlines Liberty’s ceiling for the 2026 season, but for Ionescu, a new season demands a new beginning towards glory, and she isn’t holding on to past successes.

Sabrina Ionescu Outlines the Team’s Mentality Heading Into the 2026 WNBA Season

The New York Liberty might have moved on from the Sandy Brondello era to the Chris DeMarco generation. But by retaining its Big Three, the franchise has been able to restore the winning mentality it has always boasted. All in all, it’s these three players that helped the team in winning the WNBA title, right? But for Sabrina Ionescu, none of it matters.

The six-year Liberty veteran feels that this season is an entirely fresh start for the team. “We have an entirely new coaching staff. Is it like none of these coaches have won a championship, right?” she said. “A lot of players haven’t either. I think you’re able to see so many new faces, and it doesn’t matter what you did a few years ago. It’s where we’re at now. And I feel the hunger and drive to win again here in New York for the people who are returning but also the newcomers.”

Ionescu’s assessment is quite perfect. The NY Liberty does have one of the strongest offensive forces in the league. But even last season, the Liberty boasted similar firepower with the team’s Big Three and Natasha Cloud. But when the stakes were the highest in the playoffs, the Liberty crumbled against the Phoenix Mercury.

As a result, the team can’t take anything for granted at the moment. Furthermore, with new players like Satou Sabally, it’s also important that team veterans like Ionescu and Stewart build chemistry with her as quickly as possible to strengthen overall team synergy.

The upcoming preseason games will be the best opportunities for Liberty to test it on the court. The team will face the Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun in this preseason stretch on April 25 and May 3.