{"id":915182,"date":"2026-07-05T23:54:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T23:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/915182\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T23:54:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T23:54:20","slug":"are-the-new-york-libertys-effort-issues-behind-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/915182\/","title":{"rendered":"Are the New York Liberty’s effort issues behind them?"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 There was a question that New York Liberty wing Leonie Fiebich<\/a> got tired of answering. Fiebich, the 26 year-old German national, gives it to reporters straight. She\u2019s honest. And she was growing impatient when it came to the different lines of questioning about a core theme: effort and heart<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest takeaway is that we\u2019re not where we want to be,\u201d Fiebich said prior to the Commissioner\u2019s Cup championship game on Tuesday. \u201cWe got to put some work in, hopefully this week we can get some practices in. Get on the same page, and then just defensively, I don\u2019t think we\u2019re good enough. It\u2019s effort plays, we need to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

A lot of hows and whys kept coming her way. Follow ups were asked as a way to try to further understand why she and hear team went 1-4 on a recent road trip that resulted in losing to multiple teams that were below them in the overall WNBA league standings. <\/p>\n

Being constantly reminded of losing can understandably lead to frustration, but there were many unanswered questions, especially when both Jonquel Jones<\/a> and Breanna Stewart<\/a> sent the same message after the team lost back-to-back games to the Seattle Storm and Golden State Valkyries.<\/p>\n

Jones didn\u2019t want to be baited to make an excuse following that 99-88 loss on June 25. She was asked a question about how lineup changes and limited practice time to adjust to those changes might have been a factor in inconsistent play. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not about to come in here and make an excuse for us,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWe just have to be better. That\u2019s just what it is. It\u2019s not about the reps, it\u2019s not about playing time, it\u2019s not about none of that stuff. It\u2019s about having some heart and playing with some fucking heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a mic drop moment from Jones, one that opened eyes. And then a few days later, during a period of time that included a team practice, the Liberty lost again 76-67 to the Golden State Valkyries. They were out rebounded and took 13 fewer shots than their opponent.<\/p>\n

Stewart, who didn\u2019t play in the game against the Storm, returned to the lineup. She delivered a very similar message while sitting beside head coach Chris DeMarco and Jones during their postgame press conference. <\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially when things aren\u2019t going our way, you know what I mean,\u201d Stewart said in response to a question about Jones\u2019 comment back in Seattle. \u201cCan you play with heart or have great effort when things are going good? It\u2019s really kind of the moments when you\u2019re at your lowest, and this team, we\u2019re obviously not a finished product, but this wasn\u2019t a great showing, especially after coming off a loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

It’s always fascinating to see where Breanna Stewart’s head is at after loses. Take a look at how she responded to similar questions tonight after this loss against the Valkyries and then around a month ago after falling to the Fire. Peep the Brondello-ism in tonight’s answer.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jackie Powell (@classicjpow.bsky.social)<\/a> 2026-06-29T03:33:36.933Z<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What exactly does it mean when players talk about their team\u2019s effort problem? What needs to happen? Players often point to playing harder and diving a bit more for 50-50 balls. The one statistical metric that is often alluded to in these conversations is rebounding, which is often a statical symbol of a team\u2019s effort and motor. There\u2019s a reason Angel Reese<\/a> is one of the greatest rebounders the WNBA has ever seen.<\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t always a stat to paint the effort picture as clearly as possible, according to Fiebich.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have great players on our team that are these great hustle players, and it doesn\u2019t show up on the stat sheet,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the deflections, it\u2019s like being in somebody\u2019s shit, being like really disruptive. Being in somebody\u2019s head, making big plays, but they really don\u2019t show up on the stat sheet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Head coach Chris DeMarco diagnosed the effort issue a bit differently. He acknowledged the conventional wisdom about effort and how it\u2019s about playing hard, playing physically and \u201cdiving on the floor\u201d for those 50-50 balls. But in his eyes, it\u2019s just as tactical as it is emotional and physical.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s following game plans,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that\u2019s probably what [the players are] referring to as well, is the compete level with your mind and making sure we\u2019re executing what we talked about either coming out of huddles or coming into games.\u201d<\/p>\n

He expressed that execution hasn\u2019t always come up short, but it\u2019s been far from consistent. <\/p>\n

It seemed a little bit familiar to what this team \u2014 albeit with a slightly different roster \u2014 went through in the second half of 2025<\/a>. Injuries and multiple starting lineups being put out on the floor led to effort that didn\u2019t appear up to par. The 2025 New York Liberty were consistently inconsistent. Too much change happened too regularly.<\/p>\n

The page has been turned to 2026, and there has been a lot of change. Including a new head coach, whose philosophies could have to to do with inconsistency, just like any other factor.<\/p>\n

How was Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon<\/a> viewing the new-look 2026 Liberty after going up against Sandy Brondello<\/a>\u2018s Liberty for years? She called the 2026 Liberty \u201cmore experimental,\u201d and a team that plays much more with junk defense, referring to a type of defense that is a hybrid of zone and player-to-player defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re a lot more intentional about rolling some of their big guards, and not just doing like, ghost-out actions or bingo slip out action, stuff like that,\u201dshe said. \u201cBut I think he mixes them up more defensively, probably more than they ever have been.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, are these complex defensive principles with a lack of mastery playing a role in the Liberty\u2019s effort issues? DeMarco didn\u2019t deny the hypothesis when pushed; instead, he explained why he\u2019s doing what he is. He wants to be experimenting now so that when the team gets to games that will have much higher stakes (i.e. the end of the regular season into the playoffs) the players will be able execute different schemes. DeMarco stressed that sometimes these new schemes will work, and other times they won\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\"ABreanna Stewart (30) , Sabrina Ioenscu (20) and Jonquel Jones (35) walk off the floor during their game against the Minnesota Lynx at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY on July 3, 2026. (Photos credit: Brandon Todd |New York Liberty)<\/p>\n

He and the Liberty\u2019s front office do not want the team to be foreseen, and those are goals that stretch back prior to DeMarco\u2019s arrival.<\/a> \u201cWe don\u2019t want to be predictable, he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to go into every game and be like this is all we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

While variety is essential to the demands of the Liberty\u2019s new coaching staff and their front office, there is opportunity cost at play here. Sabrina Ionescu<\/a> has had to catch up after missing the first month of the regular season<\/a> even though she was healthy and an active participant during training camp. Although she spoke glowingly in training camp<\/a> about how simple DeMarco\u2019s schemes were offensively, she too admitted that there has been some hesitation and confusion getting in the way of the team\u2019s effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think the reason of lack of those things is because we don\u2019t want to,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s kind of a probably more leaning towards a lot of overthinking in terms of where we want to be and how we want to do things. So I think it\u2019s more of a lack of, maybe, exactly knowing how we\u2019re trying to execute and what we\u2019re trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

She explained that playing aggressively requires confidence and a willingness to let go of \u201cbeing right\u201d all the time. \u201cSo I think for us, it\u2019s more just understanding we need to err on the side of playing really aggressive and playing really hard, and not always trying to think about being right.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Liberty played with a different verve against the Aces at home for the Commissioner\u2019s Cup championship. They out rebounded the Las Vegas 42-30 (which, to be clear, was more doable than it otherwise would\u2019ve been since A\u2019ja Wilson<\/a> didn\u2019t play). But it was an important step for a team that has struggled against opponents that, on paper, aren\u2019t at their level, and the Aces without Wilson on paper aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

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Liberty assistant coach Courtney Paris<\/a> shared with The IX Sports that there was a significant emphasis on crashing the glass going into the game on Tuesday. She particularly pointed to Stewart\u2019s performance where she finished the game with 11 total rebounds. She believed that the showing at the Cup Championship didn\u2019t necessarily prove that the Liberty\u2019s issues are fixed, but rather represented a growth opportunity.<\/p>\n

Schematically, Paris explained what Ionescu was hinting at a little bit more. Rebounding in a zone defense \u2014 something that has become a part of the Liberty\u2019s identity <\/a>under DeMarco in 2026 \u2014 is an adjustment to rebound out of.<\/p>\n

Within a player-to-player defense, players are \u201cmore in range\u201d with a specific person to guard and box out when going for a rebound. She admitted that it is much harder to rebound out of a zone, but she also didn\u2019t make an excuse. \u201cIt\u2019s not something we\u2019re going to be like, \u2018Oh, we\u2019re in a zone, we can\u2019t rebound,\u2019\u201d Paris said. \u201cSomething we\u2019re definitely trying to build on and get better at.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Part of the struggles are schematic, and it\u2019s a rational explanation to not be able to play as freely with that heart when there\u2019s hesitation. But the Liberty took a step against the Aces, especially when the third quarter once again got in their way. As Fiebich explained, they focused on playing with heart and they were able to execute. <\/p>\n

At first, Fiebich explained that the motivation behind playing for money, a trophy and a cause was a critical mental motivator. She also spoke about how she and her teammates were able to make more sound decisions in the fourth quarter compared to the third. <\/p>\n

She also discussed playing with a feeling that \u201ceverybody knows.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"NewNew York Liberty huddle together before their game against the Phoenix Mercury on May 28, 2026 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Photo Credit: Hannah Kevorkian | The IX Sports<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s just about going out there and doing it, taking extra step for your teammate,\u201d Fiebich told The IX Sports. \u201cAnd it just takes energy from you that you might not, don\u2019t have that day, or you might not want to spend on that, but it\u2019s impacting the play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stewart had something to say about this feeling too. She talked about how it\u2019s not a question if the team cares or not, but rather, about how much one cares. She wanted her teammates to understand how valuable every single possession is. It was the message that Stewart had for her team after defeating the Aces on Tuesday. It also was the message that both Stewart and Jones communicated during their postgame press conference following their 99-86 win on Friday night over the Minnesota Lynx.<\/p>\n

When Stewart was asked about her 36-point performance postgame, she didn\u2019t reflect on that all that long. She shifted her answer to the team\u2019s progress. Stewart knows that the Liberty took a bunch of steps back on their west coast road trip, and she wanted her teammates and the fans to know that the only way now is forward. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to have opportunities to really build,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I think as players and really as a team, we\u2019re taking ownership in that and making sure that every moment is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones added to this sentiment moments later when responding to a different question, but she clearly wanted to focus on the team\u2019s progress in her remarks, too. She acknowledged that the game against the Lynx for the most part went the Liberty\u2019s way. The team shot almost 60% from the field, including 40% from three-point range.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just understand that this is the standard, this is the level, and now it\u2019s about maintaining that,\u201d Jones said. \u201cIt\u2019s about making sure we\u2019re doing all the little things in order to put that product out there on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Fiebich appeared postgame on Friday to reflect on a second straight win, she had some jokes. She didn\u2019t want to be asked about the 50-50 balls again. But those \u201clittle things\u201d that Jones spoke about will be under a microscope throughout the rest of the regular and post season. It\u2019s up to the team\u2019s performance to determine if Fiebich and her teammates have to answer those questions again, or if the effort will start to speak for itself. <\/p>\n

\u2018Rare Gems\u2019 is out now!
<\/strong>
Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The IX Basketball and The IX Sports, wrote this deeply reported book. \u201cRare Gems\u201d follows four connected generations of women\u2019s basketball pioneers, from Elvera \u201cPeps\u201d Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.<\/p>\n

If you enjoy Megdal\u2019s coverage of women\u2019s basketball every Wednesday at The IX Sports, you will love \u201cRare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.\u201d <\/p>\n

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