Liberty are facing a daunting task down 2-0 in Finals
The record books say that the WNBA Finals are over.
No team in WNBA history has come back from a 2-0 deficit and eventually won the series. This year's WNBA Finals is the 35th best-of-5 series ever played in history.
Before this series, there have been 17 times a team went down 2-0 in a series. And none have completed a reverse sweep.
So why does Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello think her squad is capable of being the first team in WNBA history to complete a reverse sweep after going down 2-0?
“We haven't shown our best,” the head coach said after Saturday's practice at Barclays Center. “Now we have to match what Vegas does and play even better if we want to win.”
New York returns home for Game 3 today at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, where the Aces haven't won in all season.
The Liberty has looked totally different than the team that defeated Las Vegas three out of five times (including the Commissioner's Cup) before the postseason while finishing with the second-best offensive rating mark this season.
The Aces have won the first two games of the Finals by an average of 23 points, including Game 2's 28-point beatdown at Michelob Ultra Arena on Wednesday.
The Liberty guards haven't been able to equalize their opponent's stellar performances a theme that led to success in the regular-season matchups. Sabrina Ionescu, who averaged 28 points in wins against Las Vegas in the regular season, is averaging just nine points on 24% shooting in the Finals. The always-reliable twoway guard/forward Betnijah Laney struggled in Game 2 with 12 points on 27% shooting while Courtney Vandersloot has been unable to lead the offense.
Weatherspoon hired to coach the Sky
The Chicago Sky announced they've hired Naismith Hall of Famer Teresa Weatherspoon as the coach.
“I'm excited to be a part of the Chicago Sky Family,” Weatherspoon said in a statement. “To be the leader, as head coach, of an organization in a city with so much history and culture is a dream come true. The things that we are about to do as a team, a business and in the community will be rooted in excitement, excellence and hard work. I am thankful to the entire Chicago organization for going through this process and selecting me. I can't wait to get to work!”
The Sky, who won the 2021 WNBA title, were searching for a new coach since James Wade left in the middle of the season to take an assistant job with the NBA's Toronto Raptors. Chicago announced at the end of the season that interim coach Emre Vatanseyer wouldn't return.
The Sky will hire a general manager separately.
Weatherspoon returns to the WNBA after working with the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans since 2019. She first was a player development coach and then an assistant starting in 2020. The team released her in June.
Weatherspoon had a stellar playing career with the New York Liberty, earning WNBA Defensive Player of the Year honors in each the league's first two years. She led the Liberty to the Finals four times, the last time in 2002.
Weatherspoon was a head coach in college, leading her alma mater Louisiana Tech from 2009 to 2014.
Half of the WNBA's 12 coaches are now former players, including both finals coaches, Las Vegas' Becky Hammon and New York's Sandy Brondello.