New York Liberty
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| New York Liberty | |
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| Founded | 1997 |
| Home court | Madison Square Garden |
| Based in | New York City |
| Colors | Blue, orange |
| League | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Head coach | Pat Coyle |
| General manager | Carol Blazejowski |
| Owner | Cablevision |
The New York Liberty is a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in New York City. They are one of the eight original WNBA teams that began to see action in 1997, as well one of the most successful teams in WNBA history. Despite making the WNBA playoffs almost every season and appearing in the WNBA Finals several times, they have yet to win a championship.
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Facts
- Logo - Statue of Liberty with a basketball and the name "Liberty" across it
- Team Mascot - Maddie, a female dog wearing a Liberty jersey and a Statue of Liberty crown
- Theme Song - "Gotta get up"
- Crowd chants - "L-I-B-E-R-T-Y", "Let's go Liberty!"
- Played at Radio City Music Hall for several games during the 2004 season
- Uniforms:
- 2003 - Present: white with teal, blue and orange trim and "Liberty" on the chest in light blue letters at home. Primary color is blue on the road with "New York" on the chest in white letters. The Liberty logo is on the left leg of the shorts.
- 1997 - 2002: white with a black line above the shoulders at home, black with a green line on the road.
Franchise history
The term, "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride," could be used to describe the Liberty. When the WNBA opened in 1997, the Liberty was one of the first teams to choose a player, and they signed college superstar Rebecca Lobo to a contract. Lobo was injured soon thereafter, however, and her injuries eventually led to her retirement several seasons later. Despite this, the Liberty made it to the 1997 championship game, where the team lost to the Houston Comets. In 1999, they returned to the WNBA finals, where they lost two games to one to the Comets. They lost despite Teresa Weatherspoon's halfcourt shot with one second remaining in game two that gave the Liberty a one point win.
The Liberty subsequently returned to the finals in 2000 and 2002, but lost once again to the Comets and to the Los Angeles Sparks, respectively. In 2001, Weatherspoon became the WNBA's all-time assist leader, and in addition to that, Sue Wicks, once a back-up center to Lobo, has also proven to be a good surprise for the team, making the All-Star game. 1998 and 2003 were the only years the Liberty failed to make the playoffs.
Six games during the 2004 season were moved to Radio City Music Hall as Madison Square Garden was hosting the 2004 Republican National Convention. These games marked the first time Radio City had hosted a professional sporting event since the Roy Jones Jr. boxing match held in 1999.
Playoff history
| Playoff Appearances: | 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 |
| Conference Championships: | 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002 |
| WNBA Championships: |
Players of note
Hall of Famers
- Carol Blazejowski (General manager)
Current stars
Retired numbers
Not to be forgotten
Coaches and others
Head Coaches:
- Nancy Darsch (1997 - 1998)
- Richie Adubato (1998 - 2004)
- Pat Coyle (2004 - Present)
External link
- Liberty website (http://www.wnba.com/liberty)