{"id":605677,"date":"2026-04-25T13:51:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T13:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/605677\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T13:51:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T13:51:42","slug":"a-taller-han-xu-brings-a-dangerous-combination-in-her-liberty-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/605677\/","title":{"rendered":"A taller Han Xu brings a dangerous combination in her Liberty return"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"An<\/p>\n

An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows New York Liberty player Han Xu in a black uniform smiling while playing against Connecticut Sun, Image 2 shows A basketball player in a red jersey with the number 21 and <\/p>\n

Han Xu dreamed of Liberty fans over the past two years away from the team. The \u201cWe want Han! We want Han!\u201d chants echoed in her mind. New York, a city she came to when she was only 19, left an indelible mark on Han.<\/p>\n

After falling out of the Liberty\u2019s 2023 rotation and returning home, Han spent the past two years refining every aspect of her game in Chinese and Australian women\u2019s basketball leagues. She got stronger, improved her mobility and learned to play with a level of physicality needed to survive in the WNBA, all so she could hopefully come back to the city that showered her with so much love.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve got you covered on the Liberty beat <\/p>\n

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Madeline Kenney about all things Liberty and WNBA.<\/p>\n

tRY IT NOW <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI missed New York so much,\u201d Han, the Liberty\u2019s second-round pick in 2019, said Friday. \u201cNew York\u2019s like my home. And my dream is to play in the WNBA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Han plans to debut a better \u2014 and taller \u2014 version of herself Saturday in the Liberty\u2019s preseason opener against the Indiana Fever.<\/p>\n

Han grew two inches during her time away from the WNBA. She\u2019s now listed at 6-foot-11, making her the second-tallest player in league history, trailing only 7-2 Margot Dydek. She also possesses a massive 7-2 wingspan.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you ever seen someone 6-11 be able to dribble the ball like that and move the way that she moves? It\u2019s unreal,\u201d said Anneli Maley, who was teammates with Han in Australia\u2019s WNBL last season. \u201cShe\u2019s amazing. She\u2019s one of a kind. \u2026 She works so hard, she just keeps going like that. So it\u2019s like, what can\u2019t she do? Her ceiling is so high.\u201d<\/p>\n

Han is coming off a Defensive Player of the Year campaign with the Perth Lynx. She averaged a league-high 2.2 blocks with 16.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while helping the team to a 16-4 record when she was there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel more confident about defense,\u201d Han said. \u201cI want to show the same thing [here.]\u201d<\/p>\n

In the glimpses of practice available to reporters, Han seems much more comfortable inviting the contact. Her outside shot is falling. She\u2019s moving smoothly. And her teammates are taking notice.<\/p>\n

\"Han<\/p>\n

Han Xu of the Lynx drives towards the basket during game one of the WNBL Semi Final series between Perth Lynx and Bendigo Spirit at Perth High Performance Centre on February 14, 2026 in Perth, Australia. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cHanny is always versatile,\u201d said Jonquel Jones, who played alongside Han two years ago in the Chinese Women\u2019s Basketball Association. \u201cShe\u2019s always just really great for her size. You have somebody that\u2019s so tall and can move and get up and down the floor very quickly, can make open shots, hit 3s, score on all three levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Liberty\u2019s frontcourt depth last season took several hits because of injuries. Nyara Sabally was limited to just 17 games, Jones missed a month of action and injured her ankle twice. Breanna Stewart also suffered a bone bruise in her knee that sidelined her for a month.<\/p>\n

Han\u2019s arrival gives the Liberty a true backup center behind Jones. And her skill set allows her to be a complementary piece to the new system coach Chris DeMarco is implementing.<\/p>\n

\"Han<\/p>\n

Han Xu celebrates during the game against the Connecticut Sun on September 1, 2023 in Brooklyn, New York. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

DeMarco stopped short of calling his new offense \u201cposition-less\u201d because there\u2019s going to be structure in each role. But a two-big lineup featuring Han and Jones isn\u2019t out of the question.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a smart player. She has a high IQ,\u201d said DeMarco, who watched most of her Perth games this season. \u201cShe understands the moment in the game. If her team needs her to score, she scores. She\u2019s also a good passer. She has a high motor, so we\u2019ve been really impressed, but it\u2019s also credit to her for improving the way she has since she\u2019s been here last.\u201d<\/p>\n

Han, now 26, joked that she\u2019s feeling old. She returns to the Liberty this season more experienced and confident \u2014 a dangerous combination.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m ready for this moment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows New York Liberty player Han Xu in a black…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":605678,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[435,4384,263333,2839,14400,13970,2005,16806,263334,99,13969,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-605677","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-breanna-stewart","9":"tag-connecticut-sun","10":"tag-han-xu","11":"tag-indiana-fever","12":"tag-jonquel-jones","13":"tag-liberty","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-nyara-sabally","16":"tag-perth-lynx","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-the-liberty","19":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=605677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/605678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=605677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=605677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=605677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}