The two most important developments of the New York Liberty’s 2024 season are inextricable from each other.
Still, when I covered Sabrina Ionescu’s leap the first time I reflected on New York’s first half, a 25-game sprint that’s left them with a 21-4 record and a better net rating than last season, I gave but a passing compliment to the bench that’s fully allowed Ionescu to shine.
Her transition to a full-time primary ball-handler hasn’t happened in a vacuum. Ionescu has been surrounded by reserves that have lived up to General Manager Jonathan Kolb’s training camp dreams.