It won’t be official until it is, but Brooklyn basketball fanatics can at least take a deep breath in knowing that Liberty stars Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart are saying there’s no place like home.
As in Downtown Brooklyn.
The All-Star duo revealed Wednesday – and don’t take it as an April Fool’s gag – that they will re-sign with New York for the 2026 season.
Stewart, a two-time WNBA and Finals Most Valuable Player, came right out with it on her podcast, “Game Recognize Game with Stewie and Myles.”
“I’m going to just set the record straight here: I will be staying in New York,” said the three-time WNBA and Olympic champion.
“I’m not planning on taking any free agency meetings, even though I am an unrestricted free agent. My family is set up here, we’re solid here.
“I’m going to be back in New York and that’s all there is to it,” she added.
Ionescu, who helped capture the Liberty’s first-ever WNBA title as well as Olympic gold the same summer alongside Stewart in 2024, is also raring to chase Title II on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush.
“Obviously I’m where I’m supposed to be,” said the first overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft.
“Never thought anything different, and so excited to be able to sign and get started. It’s coming up really quickly, so excited to get all this behind us and just be able to start our season and get going in New York.”
The Liberty have only two players under contract, center Emma Meesseman and forward Leonie Fiebich. That leaves 10 spots to fill before the May 8 season opener vs. Connecticut.
Jonquel Jones, a member of Brooklyn’s Big Three since 2023 and Finals MVP in 2024, still hasn’t revealed her intentions going forward, but the Liberty would be hard-pressed to replace what many deem as the backbone of New York’s starting five.
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Before Liberty coach Chris DeMarco could address the upcoming WNBA expansion and first-year players drafts, the race to training camp, preseason and Opening Night at Downtown’s Barclays Center, he had to figure out who was going to sit next to him.
The four-time NBA champion as a player-development guru and assistant coach during his 13-year stint in Golden State finally got to do so on Wednesday.
“I’m incredibly excited about the group we’ve assembled and how aligned we are around shared, winning values as a staff,” DeMarco said in a team-issued release.
After waiting out the marathon labor negotiations that finally resulted in a transformational collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players late last month, DeMarco got to settle into his new job in an official way.
New Liberty coach Chris DeMarco and Sabrina Ionescu can get back to work as soon as the All-Star guard officially re-signs. Photo: Jeff Chiu/AP
The replacement for Sandy Brondello, the most successful coach in franchise history, named Courtney Paris, Addi Walters, Will Sheehey and Andrew Wade as his assistants on the bench.
Also, Kristen Mann was tabbed player-development coach and will share some of these duties with Wade.
“Each coach brings a high level of compete, a team‑first mentality, a passion for teaching the game, and unique experiences that will help us adapt our gameplan night to night, while also reflecting our commitment to building and strengthening the coaching pipeline,” DeMarco added.
While he still doesn’t have anything resembling a 12-woman roster, DeMarco had to put at least these key pieces in place.
Paris, who won the 2018 WNBA championship alongside Stewart in Seattle during her 10-year playing career, comes off an assistant stint in Chicago after working on the bench at Dallas and the University of Oklahoma.
Walters has already worked closely with DeMarco when he coached the Bahamian Men’s National Team in international competition. She is coming off an assistant stint with the G-League’s Iowa Wolves, and spent five years learning her craft with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Sheehey has worked on analytics in the NBA, G-League and on the international level and was the assistant director of player development and innovation with the Warriors as he followed DeMarco to Brooklyn.
Wade was already in the organization as director of player development last year, but will be elevated to assistant as well.
He also helped Washington to the 2019 WNBA title as an assistant with a team that featured New York’s Natasha Cloud and Meesseman.
Mann spent 20 years playing overseas and in the WNBA before serving as manager of basketball development for the Connecticut Sun, who will open this much-anticipated season at Barclays Center on May 8.
The team also promoted Micaela Reese to Director of Basketball Operations and Parker Lovett to Director of Basketball Strategy.
New York native and former Liberty guard Epiphanny Prince returns to Brooklyn, where she starred at Murry Bergtraum High School, as the team’s full-time Director within the Basketball Operations department.
According to the release, she will support collegiate, international and professional scouting while also contributing to broader Basketball Operations initiatives.
With nearly 80% of the WNBA’s free agents unsigned, a roster that will have to contend with two new franchises in Toronto and Portland and a condensed run-up to training camp in Brooklyn, DeMarco can finally begin chasing Title II with his staff in place.
One he feels comfortable calling his own as New York approaches its and the league’s historic 30th season.
“Most importantly, we care deeply about our players and sustaining a championship‑level environment here in New York,” he noted.
Liberty legend Epiphanny Prince will be in Brooklyn this year as New York’s Director within the Basketball Operations Department. Photo: Lindsey Wasson/AP
GIVE ME LIBERTY: Before they host the Sun here on May 8, the Liberty will host Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever at Barclays Center in their preseason opener on April 25. … The Liberty also announced a new multi-year partnership with Alipay+ as an official sponsor on Wednesday. A leading cross-border fintech services platform based in Singapore, Alipay+ will serve as an official sponsor and innovation partner for sustainability of the New York Liberty. Through the partnership, Alipay+ and the Liberty will jointly support community programs designed to advance community empowerment, environmental sustainability and youth development across New York City. “Our partnership with Alipay+ goes beyond the game,” said Liberty Chief Executive Officer Keia Clarke. “Together, we are investing in the future of New York—its people, its environment, and its youth. Ant International’s commitment to community empowerment, sustainability and digital innovation makes them an ideal partner for our mission.”