\u201cI know when I have one question, like, I can ask everybody but it\u2019s easier for me to [ask Mann] because she knows me also, so it\u2019s really easier,\u201d Astier said Friday. \u201cBefore I came, I was like, \u2018Please, can you send me the playbook, like everything.\u2019 And she was like, \u2018Don\u2019t worry, you\u2019re gonna be fine.\u2019 So yeah, it\u2019s nice to have her here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Astier, 24, is considered one of the best European guard prospects. Coach Chris DeMarco billed her as a strong pick-and-roll player and fierce competitor with a high upside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Pauline](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2273312948.jpg\")
Pauline Astier (18) of the New York Liberty poses for a portrait during 2026 WNBA media day at Fuse-BK in Brooklyn, New York. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Astier had her choice of WNBA teams in free agency. The Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever, Minnesota Lynx, Washington Mystics and Toronto Tempo were reportedly all interested in her services for this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But once New York called, Astier said it was game over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really a big deal\u201d that New York reached out, Astier said. \u201c[That was] something really big for me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Astier signed a one-year, rookie minimum contract, worth $270,000. She arrived in New York earlier this week and is already making an impression on her new teammates.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sabrina Ionescu praised Astier for how quickly the young guard has picked up on DeMarco\u2019s new system.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cToday was her second day and she probably stood out the most out of anybody,\u201d Ionescu said. \u201cI would say her ability to adapt, obviously her IQ has to be really high for her to get it this quickly. Some of us have been doing this for a week and a half and still don\u2019t know where to go and she came in two days and is, like, directing, understands where to go, calling the offense.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Pauline](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2266218984.jpg\")
Pauline Astier also plays for the French National Team. FIBA via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Astier\u2019s arrival injects youth into the Liberty and bolsters the team\u2019s guard depth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There\u2019s expected to be a learning curve for Astier as she adapts to the WNBA. But the Liberty feel like they can aid in her development.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe national team trusts her with the ball, we will, too,\u201d DeMarco said. \u201cWe just have to see what it looks like. I have a ton of confidence in her. I think her ability to read the floor is really, really good, and I think defensively, she definitely wants to pick up and cause some havoc, and I think she\u2019s done a good job of shooting the ball, so she\u2019ll have an opportunity. Do I know if she\u2019s ready for major minutes? I don\u2019t right now, but she\u2019s definitely played at the highest level.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Astier plays more of a traditional point guard style. She\u2019s got strong passing vision, something Ionescu noticed Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited,\u201d Ionescu said. \u201cSky\u2019s the limit for her, [I] want to continue to kind of understand how to play with her \u2026 I\u2019m excited to see how she\u2019s going to grow. But I think everyone\u2019s going to really love her style of play because it\u2019s super special and fits the system we\u2019re trying to run.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Astier said she\u2019s still settling into her new situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s a lot at the beginning,\u201d she said, \u201cbut it\u2019s really nice because I like to play fast, to push the ball, to play in transition, so I think it\u2019s gonna be nice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Astier spent part of her day off Thursday playing tourist with her fellow countrywoman Marine Johann\u00e8s. The two took a trip to Times Square and took in the hectic scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Being a part of the city\u2019s hustle and bustle and the Liberty\u2019s championship desires are why she chose to come here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so happy,\u201d Astier said. \u201cIt\u2019s the first time for me in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pauline Astier hit up new Liberty player development coach Kristen Mann last month in preparation for the French…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":618495,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[436,99,434],"class_list":["post-618494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-new-york-liberty","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618494","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=618494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}