LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 21: Breanna Stewart #30 of the New York Liberty goes for a layup against Nneka Ogwumike #30 of the Los Angeles Sparks during the first quarter at Crypto.com Arena on June 21, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Melina Pizano/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES — The New York Liberty entered Sunday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks celebrating the 30th anniversary of the inaugural meeting between the two franchises in 1997. Instead of commemorating the milestone with a victory, New York dropped its second consecutive game, falling to Los Angeles just days after a Juneteenth loss to the Washington Mystics.
1997 Sparks Versus Liberty, Rebecca Lobo and Lisa Leslie(Photo: New York Liberty)
2026 Sparks Versus Liberty, Jonquel Jones and Nneka Ogwumike. (Photo: New York Liberty)
For a team that spent much of the season establishing itself as one of the WNBA‘s top championship contenders, the back-to-back defeats exposed several recurring issues, including turnovers, inconsistent rotations and the challenge of reintegrating key players returning from injury.
Despite entering the stretch on an eight-game winning streak, many of the concerns that surfaced during victories became difficult to overcome in defeat. As the Liberty continue adjusting to a new offensive system under first-year head coach Chris DeMarco, several veterans are still finding their footing while newer additions have been asked to take on larger roles.
Rookie Guard Continues to Answer the Call
One bright spot during both losses was rookie guard Pauline Astier.
With Sabrina Ionescu continuing to work her way back from injury, Astier has consistently stepped into larger responsibilities and provided stability at the point guard position. Her ability to pressure defenses off the dribble, attack the paint and create opportunities for teammates has become increasingly valuable for a Liberty offense still searching for consistency.
Against Los Angeles, Astier finished with 17 points, four rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block while shooting 80 percent from the field.
Astier on a reverse layup versus Los Angeles Sparks. (Photo: New York Liberty)
While her impact against Washington was less evident in the box score, her ability to organize the offense and keep possessions flowing remained noticeable throughout the game. During the Juneteenth game, here she is on a backdoor cut find to give the Liberty the lead late in the game.
As New York continues navigating injuries and lineup experimentation, Astier’s emergence has become one of the season’s most encouraging developments.
Lineup Questions Continue
The biggest topic surrounding the Liberty over the past several weeks has been lineup consistency.
Against Los Angeles, New York’s most effective stretches came with larger lineups featuring one primary ball handler surrounded by length, versatility and size. Those groups generated strong offensive possessions through high pick-and-roll actions involving Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart while also creating transition opportunities and floor spacing for shooters. Another thing to note is that there have been flashes of also pairing Sabrina Ionescu with Astier on the floor at the same time which is a lineup that hasn’t seen many minutes but is as equally effective for both ends of the floor.
The approach helped New York build a 17-point lead, but maintaining that success proved difficult as rotations shifted throughout the second half.
New York Liberty’s most effective lineup versus the Los Angeles Sparks. (Photo: Databallr)
Examples of the lineup working well in the earlier quarters, can be seen below in where you can see the spacing and movement of the ball between the 5.
By the start of the fourth quarter, the Sparks had cut the deficit to six points after outscoring the Liberty 22-8 over a key stretch spanning the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth. During that period, New York struggled to find the same balance between offense and defense that fueled its early success.
One notable absence has been the consistent availability of Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. While she continues working her way back from injury, her defensive versatility remains an important component of many of the Liberty’s most successful lineups.
The losses highlighted that lineup optimization remains a work in progress as the Liberty continue balancing player health, development and game-to-game matchups.
Turnovers Continue to Hurt New York
If there is one issue that has consistently followed the Liberty throughout the season, it is turnovers.
New York committed 30 turnovers across the two losses, including 16 against Los Angeles and 14 against Washington. Whether it is miscommunication in pick-and-roll actions, forced passes into traffic or difficulty securing entry passes, the mistakes continue to create extra possessions for opponents and place additional pressure on the defense.
The numbers reinforce the concern. Through 17 games, the Liberty rank near the bottom of the league in turnovers, a trend that becomes increasingly difficult to overcome against stronger competition.
With upcoming games against Las Vegas, Seattle and Golden State, ball security will remain one of the team’s most important areas for improvement.
Reintegrating Sabrina Ionescu
Much of the recent discussion surrounding the Liberty has focused on Sabrina Ionescu’s play since returning from injury.
While some frustration has emerged regarding her production, the situation is more nuanced than the numbers alone suggest. Ionescu is returning from both ankle and back injuries while simultaneously adapting to a new offensive system and new teammates.
Following the loss, Jones offered perspective on the adjustment process during the post game press conference.
“This isn’t like the past, where it’s a system that she’s ran for a few years and she’s stepping into something that she’s really familiar with, Jones said. “It’s a lot of new circumstances right now with new teammates, new coach, new offense and so things are going to take a little bit of time to materialize.”
The Liberty are asking different things of their guards this season, including more off-ball movement and screening actions. Combined with the addition of Satou Sabally and other new contributors, the offense is still evolving.
Ionescu indicated after the game that she feels healthy, and the organization remains confident that increased repetitions will help unlock the version of the offense many expected entering the season.
Looking Ahead
Despite the back-to-back losses, New York remains firmly among the league’s top contenders.
The defeats exposed weaknesses that have lingered beneath the surface throughout the season, but they also provided clarity regarding what must improve moving forward. Turnovers, lineup consistency and continued chemistry development remain at the top of that list.
The upcoming stretch, which includes several challenging opponents and the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship, should provide a clearer picture of where the Liberty stand as they continue building toward their ultimate goal.
The talent, size and depth remain in place. The question now is whether New York can clean up the details that have prevented it from playing its best basketball for a full 40 minutes.
