With just four games left in the regular season, Breanna Stewart is clear about what she expects from herself and her team. The New York Liberty are not playing championship basketball right now, and she is not hiding her frustration.
“This is not championship level basketball, and everyone needs to understand that,” Stewart said after the Liberty fell 80-63 to the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday. “It’s not good enough. It won’t get us where we want to go.”
The Liberty, sitting at 24-16, will almost certainly be in the postseason, but their title defense has not unfolded the way they imagined back in May. After celebrating their first WNBA championship with rings and opening the season with nine straight wins, the team has been inconsistent.
Injuries have played a big role. Jonquel Jones missed six weeks with an ankle problem, Stewart sat a month with a bone bruise in her knee, and Sabrina Ionescu is still dealing with a sore toe. The result has been a middling 15-16 record since that blazing start, with the team’s three stars appearing together in only a dozen games all year.
Coach Sandy Brondello summed it up: “We haven’t had our whole team together. It is what it is.”
The latest loss cost New York a chance to leapfrog Phoenix for playoff positioning. Instead, the Liberty remain fifth in the standings heading into Tuesday night’s matchup with Golden State. The Valkyries, despite being an expansion team, are right behind them at 21-18.
There is still a path upward. Atlanta and Las Vegas sit tied for second at 26-14, while Phoenix holds fourth at 25-14. A surge in these final games could secure a more favorable seed, including the possibility of home court in the first round. Minnesota, at 31-8, already has the league’s best record and home advantage throughout the postseason.
Stewart, who finished Saturday with 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals, knows what it takes to win when it matters. She captured two titles in Seattle and led New York to its first-ever championship last year. Now she is calling for urgency.
“We need to be better. This is a chance to learn, but we are running out of chances. We have to raise our level,” Stewart said.
Brondello echoed that sentiment, pointing to the details: “We need to do better with all the little things. Other teams are taking advantage of that.”
Against Phoenix, those details were glaring. The Mercury outrebounded New York, turned 19 Liberty turnovers into 26 points, and closed the game with a 17-3 run. They also secured the season series, giving them a tiebreaker edge if the teams finish tied.
The Liberty know what it feels like to rise in the postseason. Last year, they went 8-3 in the playoffs, sweeping Washington, eliminating Las Vegas, and holding off Minnesota in a dramatic Finals to lift the trophy in Brooklyn. Stewart remembers that journey, and she believes her team is capable of finding that gear again.
“Never panic,” she said. “I believe this team can do anything it sets out to do. We just need urgency. Today mattered for seeding, but more than that, we need to peak at the right time.”
She also pointed to the importance of Liberty fans. “Our supporters are with us through everything,” Stewart said after acknowledging the New York faithful who showed up in Phoenix. “Wherever we end up, we’ll be ready. And so will they.”
