Last weekend, things were looking up for the New York Liberty. Leonie Fiebich returned from a seven-week layoff due to a left foot injury and spurred the Liberty to a 109-102 victory over the Indiana Fever with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists on Aug. 22. The next day, thanks to a Portland Fire loss, the Liberty clinched a spot in the postseason.
Fiebich, the forward from Germany, was a key part of the Liberty's 2024 championship team, and with her back and healthy, it felt like the Liberty might be rounding into form at just the right time. But on Thursday night in Brooklyn, that optimism was dampened by a 79-60 loss to the Golden State Valkyries. "I feel disappointed with this one and a little bit embarrassed as well.
I just don't think we should ever lose like that on our home court. But I do think we're playing hard, we're playing with intent. It's just we didn't find a way tonight," Liberty guard Rebecca Allen said after the game.
"I feel like today was a bit of a step backwards." The Liberty (23-16) were preseason favorites to win the title, and even at the halfway mark of the season, some of us here at CBS Sports still considered them top contenders despite their lackluster 13-9 start. But the Liberty have only gone 10-7 since that point, and despite a 7-3 record in August, have officially become a championship longshot. At midseason, they had the third-best odds to win it all at +390 behind the Minnesota Lynx (+150) and Las Vegas Aces (+360).
Now they sit at sixth in the FanDuel odds at +1300. If the playoffs began today, the Liberty would be the No. 8 seed in an eight-team field. New York has one game left before the FIBA break, as they host the Chicago Sky on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
ET on CBS and Paramount+. It's a @WNBA showdown in Brooklyn tomorrow 🍿The @chicagosky go on the road to face Breanna Stewart and the @nyliberty at 1 PM ET📺 CBS | @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/avtsMJu7Qp With just five games left in the regular season, let's look at what's gone wrong for the Liberty this summer and whether there's any chance they can salvage 2026 with a postseason run. The Liberty appeared to be the biggest winners of the offseason when they signed Satou Sabally in free agency.
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