What will the loaded Liberty roster mean for fantasy stats?
Last season, 2018 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart led the league with 39.2 fantasy points scored per game on the Seattle Storm while Sabrina Ionescu led all guards (and was third in the WNBA) with 35.8 FP/G for the Liberty.
In 2021, just a season prior, Jonquel Jones was WNBA MVP and had the second-highest fantasy scoring average in the league at 40.2 FP/G for the Connecticut Sun. Now, all three are teammates in New York, along with other perennial top-30 fantasy scorers in former assists-leader Courtney Vandersloot and 2021 All Star forward Betnijah Laney.
What happens to everyone's fantasy hoops scoring averages when they all have to share one ball?
In recent years, we've seen both Stewart and Jones play on star-laden frontlines next to other high-volume producers. During the second half of last season, Stewart was joined in the Storm frontcourt by 2012 WNBA MVP and rebound vacuum Tina Charles. Stewart still produced a career-best 21.8 PPG, but her rebounding fell from her career-best 9.6 RPG in 2021 to a career-low 7.6 RPG last season.
Similar for Jonquel Jones. After her 2021 MVP run in which she produced a career-season with 19.4 PPG and 11.2 RPG, last season she found herself on a deep and talented Sun frontline featuring three other star players in Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones. Jonquel's production fell to 14.6 PPG, 8.6 RPG and 1.8 APG as she ceded volume and minutes to her strong teammates.
What to watch
Both of these situations are instructional for what we might expect this season. Stewart will likely be the primary scoring option in the frontcourt for the Liberty, but her shot volume could fall slightly from the 15.1 FGA she's averaged to generate 20.8 PPG over the last five seasons.
Jones may play a role similar to last season, where she was a nightly double-double threat that averaged in the mid-teens instead of a nightly 20-10 producer. Laney averaged in the upper teens in points with a solid all-around game in the two seasons before knee injury claimed most of her 2022 campaign, but on this superstar frontline she projects to more of a do-it-all wing and playmaker capable of low double-digit scoring and a handful of combined boards and assists per game.
The Liberty backcourt will be led by two strong floor generals and playmakers in Ionescu and Vandersloot, who finished third and second in the WNBA in assists per game last season. This should lead to an efficient team offense where everyone is able to get their looks and touches from preferred locations on most possessions.
Vandersloot's role and production may not change very much compared to last season for the Sky, but Ionescu was the budding superstar on the Liberty and her role could be very different this season.
Ionescu was growing into a nightly triple-double threat with averages of 17.4 PPG, 7.1 RPG and 6.3 APG last season. She will be off the ball more this season with Vandersloot at point guard, and this actually plays to her strengths.
Ionescu finished fifth in the league in 3-pointers made last season, averaging 2.3 3PG, and she projects as the other primary scorer on the team as a shooter-creator off the dribble. Overall, Ionescu could see her volume decrease slightly across the board, but her percentages and long-range shot-making could improve.
Liberty team profile
2022 Record: 16-20
Coach: Sandy Brondello
Key Additions: Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Courtney Vandersloot
Key Losses: Michaela Onyenwere
2022 Offensive efficiency: 101.1 (9th)
2022 Defensive efficiency: 104.1 (7th)
2022 Pace: 80.6 possessions per 48 minutes (1st)
What to expect in 2023: The Liberty are heavy favorites to contend for the championship, challenging the defending champion Las Vegas Aces for league supremacy. Their roster is stacked from top to bottom, with two former MVPs in their primes leading the frontcourt and a budding superstar in the backcourt. The biggest hurdle for the team will be learning how to play together with this much talent, but once they mesh the Liberty have a chance to be a historic squad.
