New York Liberty players took exception to Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum’s criticism of their team following the WNBA Finals.
The Aces won a second consecutive WNBA championship, running it back with a very similar lineup to their 2022 title-winning season. After Wednesday’s series-clinching win, Plum pointed to Las Vegas’ long journey to that point — as compared to New York, which assembled its roster in the 2023 offseason.
“There was a lot of years that we weren’t so super,” she said. “But you can’t build a superteam in a couple of months. It takes years.”
Plum also questioned the Liberty’s team mentality.
“We also knew that, as much as they’re a team, they’re not a team, if that makes sense,” she told Yahoo Sports. “They’re really good individual players, but they don’t care about each other. And you can tell in those moments. They revert back to individual basketball.”
On Friday, Liberty players called out Plum’s comments in their end-of-season interviews.
“I think it’s easy to kick people when they’re down and you’re up, and honestly to me, it felt classless,” Jonquel Jones said. “You could celebrate with your team, and instead you chose to essentially s— on someone else.”
Sabrina Ionescu pushed back on the notion that New York isn’t a team, saying that “couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“I’ve never been on a team that’s been more committed to one another than what it’s been like this year,” she said. “We had players that came together in a short amount of time… to try to win.”
Breanna Stewart sidestepped a question on Plum’s criticism, calling the Aces “phenomenal” and congratulating them on their win.
“Win or lose, we’ll just continue to carry ourselves with grace and keep that going forward,” she said.
Head coach Sandy Brondello admitted she had not looked much at social media since her team’s loss Wednesday, but she did say that what Plum said about the Liberty is “wrong.”
“I don’t even think I should comment, because I know it’s not true,” she said. “This team has grown so close together in a short period of time, and what Kelsey said is wrong.”
Plum then took to social media to clarify her comments.
“Since the media wants to do click bait, imma cut this drama out right now so we can move on and be in peace,” she wrote on X. “What I said was taken extremely out of context. I was trying to articulate my teammates and I have been through a lot and we used our bond to get over the hump.”
Since the media wants to do click bait, imma cut this drama out right now so we can move on and be in peace. What I said was taken extremely out of context. I was trying to articulate my teammates and I have been through a lot and we used our bond to get over the hump. https://t.co/FgD7STZTEN
— Kelsey Plum (@Kelseyplum10) October 20, 2023
She also apologized for how her words came on, noting that she didn’t intend to “throw shade.”
“Never been the type to throw shade, quite the opposite actually,” she continued. “I see how it came off, never was my intention and I apologize. Our game grew immensely from this series, don’t let this bull shit detract from the biggest win here.”
The New York Liberty are on the brink of elimination in the WNBA Finals. And coach Sandy Brondello thinks she has the solution: an attitude adjustment.
“It’s about action now,” she told the media. “No f—ing feelings anymore.”
Entering Game 3 on Sunday at Barclays Center, the Liberty are trailing the Las Vegas Aces 2-0 in the series. After a dominant regular season, Brondello’s team has been outscored 99-82 and 104-76 in the series.
“We’re all disappointed, angry, embarrassed, with how we played,” Brondello continued. “I think we have all those emotions, but it’s about action now, not emotion. It’s about what you can do. Not how you’re feeling … Feelings blind us, you know what I mean? It’s like, feel them and express them, and get them out. Now focus on what you can control — it’s actions, not emotions.”
Liberty star Breanna Stewart, in particular, struggled in Game 2, scoring just 14 points on 6-of-17 shooting. Stewart echoed Brondello’s theory for the team’s struggles.
“I think that our mental was kind of all over the place,” she said.
The Liberty had some success against the Aces before the series, beating them in the Commissioner’s Cup championship game. The teams split four regular season matchups. But when it matters most, the Liberty have looked like a shell of their past selves.
Brondello thinks it’s time for her team to toughen up.
“We still have an opportunity here,” Brondello said. “We learn and we’re staying in the moment, but we’ve got to do what we’re supposed to do, and that’s how we can help each other.”
The Las Vegas Aces are betting favorites to win the 2023 WNBA Finals over the New York Liberty. Yet recent history between the two teams suggests that maybe it should be the other way around.
The best-of-five series could go down in history as one of the best ever. A battle between two superteams, the Liberty are making their first Finals appearance since 2002, while the Aces are looking to repeat as champions.
Still, even after Las Vegas’ historic 34-6 season, New York has had them on the ropes.
The teams split their regular season meetings, 2-2, with each team winning the games on its home court. But in a fifth meeting, in the 2023 Commissioner’s Cup final on Aug. 15, the New York Liberty emerged victorious, 82-63.
The Aces’ first win against the Liberty came back in June. The next four games in their 2023 series came in August, and the Liberty held a 3-1 record in those contests, including the Commissioner’s Cup final. And it’s those four games that New York head coach Sandy Brondello thinks will make the Finals interesting.
“It helped us a lot, playing [those four times] in August,” she said. “The chess match begins now. … I’m excited, I know Becky will be excited. It’ll be a hard-fought battle, and we’re battle tested, so I look forward to that.”
It’s also, as she pointed out, the superteam “narrative” that WNBA fans have been eying from the start of the season. Regardless of which team wins the series, one could argue that as a whole, the league has won this season.
“I think it’s good. That’s the narrative everyone wanted for the start,” Brondello said. “I didn’t like the superteam thing, but these players, they’ve played great. I think it’ll be a great series, and it’s good promotion for the WNBA.”
New York will start the series with two games on the road after the Aces locked down the No. 1 overall seed. And it’ll be a testy atmosphere at Las Vegas’ Michelob Ultra Arena, with both games having already sold out. The Aces haven’t lost much at home this season, and the Liberty have electrified their city too.
Like Brondello said, it’s going to be a battle.
“This is a special group,” Aces guard Chelsea Gray said. “Our composure in our huddles and how tight and how locked in we were with each and every person, whether you’re in the game or out the game, anybody that came in knew what we were doing, especially on the defensive end. So I wouldn’t want to go to war with anybody else.”
Skylar Diggins-Smith seemed to call out the Phoenix Mercury on social media Sunday after Sandy Brondello led the New York Liberty to the 2023 WNBA Finals in just her second year as head coach.
Brondello, 55, formerly served as head coach of the Phoenix Mercury from 2014 to 2021, leading the team to the WNBA title in 2014 and to the playoffs in every one of her eight seasons. But following the 2021 season, in which the Mercury lost to the Chicago Sky in the Finals, the team opted to move on from Brondello and did not renew her contract.
Since then, the Mercury have struggled, which resulted in the team parting ways with Brondello’s replacement, Vanessa Nygaard, midway through 2023. They also failed to make the WNBA playoffs this season for the first time since 2012.
Brondello, meanwhile, joined the New York Liberty in 2022. One season later, she has led the superteam to its first WNBA Finals appearance since 2002.
“Damn, it’s almost like Sandy is a good coach?” Diggins-Smith wrote on social media.
Damn, it’s almost like Sandy is a good Coach? 🫠
— Skylar Diggins-Smith (@SkyDigg4) October 1, 2023
Diggins-Smith, 33, has been at odds with the Mercury organization since the end of last season. She gave birth to her second daughter this year, and she remained on maternity leave for the entire 2023 season. She’s set to be a free agent this offseason and all signs point to a departure from Phoenix.
Recently, Diggins-Smith said that she wants to feel “supported and welcomed” by her next WNBA team.
The WNBA’s 2023 end-of-season awards have been debated all season long. The MVP category has naturally received the most attention because of the nature of the award and the tight race among the three frontrunners: Alyssa Thomas, Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson.
As a WNBA media voter, I submitted my selections for all of the major awards toward the end of the regular season. After a full-season review and careful consideration, these were my choices.
Most Valuable Player
Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun
The MVP award came down to a three-player race between Wilson (Aces), Stewart (Liberty) and Thomas (Sun). All three have compelling cases that made this the most difficult category to vote for. To me, though, Thomas’ overall importance to her team and her ability to impact every aspect of the game gives her the edge.
Thomas accomplished something this season that no other player in WNBA history has done, recording six triple-doubles in 2023. Her ability to impact the game can’t be understated, as she does everything for the No. 3 Sun.
She leads Connecticut with 15.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and she is first in the WNBA in rebounds and second in assists.
When 2021 WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones was traded to New York in the offseason, it was hard to imagine Connecticut being the third-best team in the WNBA heading into playoffs, yet here they are. That’s because of Thomas. She runs Connecticut’s offense and guards every position on defense.
Teammate DiJonai Carrington summed up Thomas’ performance well after her third triple-double of the season: “I don’t want any of y’all to get used to and normalize what she’s doing out there, for real. Like, that’s not normal.”
It’s not normal, it’s historic. And that is worthy of the MVP award.
Coach of the Year
Sandy Brondello, New York Liberty
In her second year with New York, Sandy Brondello took the Liberty from a 16-20 record to a 32-8 record. During the offseason, the Liberty saw an influx of talent with the additions of Stewart, Jones and Courtney Vanderlsoot. But Brondello’s coaching can’t be discounted simply because she now has more tools. Sure, the new talent is a large part of the franchise’s improvement, but it’s not the only piece.
Brondello was able to take a team that early in the season looked like a collection of stars who didn’t know how to play together, and turn it into a cohesive unit that is a favorite to win the WNBA title. Brondello found a way to maximize the talent of her starting five and use her bench unit wisely to elevate the whole team.
Sixth Player of the Year
DiJonai Carrington, Connecticut Sun
There were several strong candidates for Sixth Player of the Year: Dana Evans helped the Sky overcome in-season adversity and sneak into the playoffs, and Alysha Clark changed the complexity of Las Vegas on both ends of the court when she entered games. But for me, the award should go to Connecticut’s DiJonai Carrington.
Early in the season, Carrington’s role was unclear and she played limited minutes. But the third-year player stayed the course and became a valuable part of the Sun playing their way to the 3-seed. In 17.2 minutes per game, she’s shooting 37% from long range and averaging 8.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
Carrington brings an energy to both ends of the floor when she’s subbed in. Coach Stephanie White often chooses to leave her in during close game situations down the stretch, summing up her impact.
Most Improved Player
Jordin Canada, Los Angeles Sparks
It was an up-and-down season for the Sparks as they narrowly missed the playoffs, but Jordin Canada was a constant bright spot. In her second year with Los Angeles, the 28-year-old established herself as a point guard to build around.
Canada improved in every stat category this season, with career-high averages in points (13.3), assists (6.0), rebounds (3.1) and steals (2.3). Her 3-point shooting also saw a massive increase, going from 14% to 33%.
Canada has a hand in every Sparks possession when she’s on the court, both offensively and defensively. She averages 2.8 steals per 40 minutes, the best mark in the WNBA, and was also in the running for Defensive Player of the Year.
Rookie of the Year
Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever
This award has been Boston’s to lose all season. While Lynx guard Diamond Miller made a push when she returned from injury, Boston was steady from her first game to her last, earning her my vote.
The No. 1 draft pick averaged 14.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per game for the Fever. She was also incredibly efficient when shooting the ball, making 57.8% of her attempts, the third-best mark in the league.
Though her team missed the playoffs, they improved drastically from last season, and Boston was a big part of that. Rookie of the Year is likely the first of many awards Boston will win throughout her career.
Defensive Player of the Year
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Wilson earned my vote for the second year in a row because she continues to change the way opponents play against the Aces. Her presence in the paint is enough to make players shy away from driving to the lane, and when they dare to challenge her, Wilson leads the league in shot-blocking with 2.2 per game.
Wilson isn’t just a shot-blocker, either. She knows how to defend without fouling, averaging only 2.1 fouls per game, while pulling down the third-most defensive rebounds in the league. She also has good hands defensively and can extend outside the paint with 1.4 steals per game.
All WNBA First Team
Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun
Satou Sabally, Dallas Wings
Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx
Eden Laase is a Staff Writer