The Liberty’s slow start already feels like ancient history
The New York Liberty did not exactly glide into the 2026 WNBA season looking like a finished product. For a minute, they looked vulnerable. A little uneven. A little too easy to question.
That window may already be closed.
New York has ripped off seven straight wins, climbed to No. 1 in the WNBA’s latest power rankings and turned Commissioner’s Cup play into a reminder that this roster still belongs in every championship conversation. The Liberty are 10-4 overall and went 5-0 in Cup play, good enough to clinch the East’s berth in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game on June 30.
The Cup run changed the tone
Commissioner’s Cup games can sometimes feel like a midseason subplot. For the Liberty, they became a reset button.
New York did not just win Cup games. It stacked them with authority. The Liberty finished Cup play at 5-0 with a plus-68 point differential, the best mark in the East, and their win over Washington officially punched their ticket to the title game.
That matters because this team needed a stretch that felt less like survival and more like proof. Early bumps are one thing. A seven-game winning streak, a Cup title-game berth and the league’s longest active winning streak are something else entirely.
This is what scary depth looks like
The Liberty’s turnaround is not built on one player catching fire for a week. That is what should make the rest of the league uncomfortable.
Breanna Stewart remains the standard-setting force. Jonquel Jones gives New York size, scoring and interior control. Sabrina Ionescu’s return only raises the ceiling. Leonie Fiebich, Marine Johannes, Satou Sabally and the rest of the rotation have helped turn what looked like an adjustment period into a strength-in-numbers surge.
The WNBA’s own power rankings moved New York from No. 5 to No. 1 in one week, which says plenty about how quickly the league’s read on the Liberty has changed.
The early-season questions are getting quieter
Every good team goes through some version of this. The difference is how quickly it can solve the problem.
For the Liberty, the questions were fair. Could they settle in? Could the rotation stabilize? Could they keep pace with Minnesota, Las Vegas, Atlanta and the rest of the league’s early contenders?
Now the question has flipped: who wants to see this team when everything is finally clicking?
New York’s 86-64 win over Washington did more than clinch a Cup berth. It made the Liberty look like a team that has reintroduced itself to the season with a little edge.
The rest of the league should be nervous
The Liberty are not chasing respectability. They are chasing trophies.
That is why this stretch feels bigger than a hot streak. New York has already proven it can take over a midseason competition, absorb early pressure and move back to the front of the WNBA conversation before the summer even fully heats up.
The slow start is still part of the story. It just no longer feels like the story.
Right now, the Liberty look like a team that remembered exactly who it is — and that should make everyone else nervous.
