Back in 2019, the New York Liberty was a basket case. James Dolan, unable to unload the money-losing WNBA franchise for more than a year, had moved the team, under the management of Isiah Thomas, from Madison Square Garden where it had hosted four WNBA Finals to Westchester County Center, a 90-year-old barrel-vaulted antique of venue in White Plains. Its attendance, once the lynchpin of WNBA attendance, had dropped to 2,200 per game, last in the league, adding to the league’s overall financial distress. Its record a miserable 7-27.
Enter Joe and Clara Wu Tsai, then 49% owner of the Brooklyn Nets but on the road to control.